PRODUCE MARKETS 
AND MARKETING 



BY 

WILLIAM T. SEIBELS 

OF THE PACKER STAFF 




CHICAGO 
PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

COR. W. SOUTH WATER AND CLARK STS. 



^ffl 



, ^^ 



Copyright 1911 
By W. T. SEIBELS 



{all rights reserved) 



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©CI.A30()105 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Foreword vii 

I The Trade Defined and Discussed 1 

II Crooks and Straights 11 

III The Making and Breaking of Markets 20 

IV Speculation 30 

V Information 38 

VI Transportation 15 

VII Co-operation ol 

VIII Associations and Individuals 06 

IX Quality vs. Quantity ■. SI 

X Packages 87 

XI Grading and Packing 93 

XII Where is your Market? 98 

XIII Sell or Consign? 103 

XIV Auctions 108 

XV Are the Storages a Bane or a Blessing? 11-2 

XVI Credits and Discounts 120 

XVII Evils in the Trade that Need Correcting 12G 

XVIII Legislation Relating to and Affecting the Trade 133 

XIX Produce and Patriotism 1 iO 

XX An Appeal for Equal and Exact Justice 1 io 

XXI The Wizards at Work 150 

XXII Better Days Ahead 155 

XXIII Public Estimate of tlie Trade Should be Revised and 

Corrected 160 

iii 



IV 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIV Butter 166 

XXV Eggs 178 

XXVI Poultry • 197 

XXVII Apples 205 

XXVIII Potatoes 220 

XXIX Cabbage 231 

XXX Onions 239 

XXXI Melons 2il 

XXXII Citrus Fruits 250 

XXXIII Peaches 258 

XXXIV Pineapples, Pears, Prunes and Pecans 264 

XXXV Truck Growers and Truck , 269 

XXXVI Produce Exports and Imports 277 

XXXVII The Cost of Living 284 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Picking Cherries, Michigan op. page 4 

West South Water St., Chicago " " 5 

Packing Pears, New York " " 14 

Washington Apple Tree " " 15 

Quincy Market, Boston " " 24 

Faneuil Hall, Boston " " 25 

A Load of Michigan Grapes " " 34 

Spinach Patch, Norfolk, Va " " 35 

Florida Vegetables, express lots " " 54 

Texas Strawberries, loading scene " " 55 

"Peaches" and Celery, Sanford, Fla " " 64 

Berry Pickers, Borden, Ind " " 65 

Group of Fruit Packers " " 72 

Harvesting Lettuce, Duluth, Minn - " " 72 

Examining Peach Bloom, Michigan " " 73 

February Shipping, Virginia " " 90 

Packing Fruit in Colorado " " 91 

Old French Market, New Orleans " " 100 

Fruit Buyers, New York Auction " " 101 

Peach Market, Grand Rapids, ]\Iich " " 104 

Florida Celery Field " " 105 

Opening Auction Sale, Chicago " " 108 

Auction Scene, New York " " 109 

Fruit in Chicago Auction " " 114 

Chickens on California Ranch " " 115 

V 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Maryland Peach Shipping — 2 scenes op. 

Style of Apple Packing — Washington 

Harvesting Peaches^ Michigan 

Ripe Oranges, California 

Packing Apples, Illinois 

Delaware Shipping Scene 

"Smudging" in Colorado 

New York Potato Harvest 

Shipping Potatoes, Norfolk, Va 

Prune Packing Crew, Oregon 

A Minnesota Celery Farm 

The "Line Up," Independence, La 

New York Potato Harvest 

Tokay Grapes, California 

Packing Scene, Medford, Oregon 

Watermelons, Oaktown, Ind 

A Minnesota Creamery 

Belgium Creamery 

A Class in Dairying 

Modern Butter Basement 

Iowa Creamery 

Egg Candler at Work 

A Commercial Poultry Yard 

Dressed Poultry boxed — Roasters 

Dry Picked Poultry 

Wenatchee (Wash.) Apples 

Harvesting Apples — Michigan 

Kansas Apple Scene 

Hood River Apples 

Potato Field^New York 

Digging Potatoes — Texas 

Field of Danish Cabbage, New York 

Florida Cabbage Field 

Curing Onions — Indiana 

Harvesting Onions — New York 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii 

Rattlesnake Watermelons op. page 244 

Cantaloupe Ranch — Arizona " " 245 

Indiana Cantaloupes " " 246 

Selecting Cantaloupe Seed " " 247 

Picking Oranges — California " " 252 

Young California Grove ." " " 253 

Grove at Kissimmee, Fla " " 256 

California Lemons " " 257 

Peach Packing Shed — Missouri " " 260 

Packages at Koshonong, Mo " " 261 

Pineapples — Miami, Florida " " 266 

Onion Seed Farm, Indiana " " 267 

"Bunch Crops," Kenner, La " " 272 

Erie Fruit Pier, New York " " 273 

Apples for Export " " 280 

A Banana Room " " 281 

Irrigating Orange Grove " " 286 

Packing Peaches, Texas " " 287 



FOREWORD 



It is my sincerest wish that this volume may be found readable, heliJ- 
ful and instructive, at least in some measure to those connected directly 
or indirectly with the fruit and produce business whether as growers, 
shippers or dealers. 

And while I may be a bit too expectant in this wish I indulge the fond 
hope that if some of the things I have set down in the foregoing chap- 
ters are carefully read and thought over they will make for better con- 
ditions, and a more profitable business for everyone who will take the 
pains to consider impartially what I have faithfully endeavored to em- 
phasize in as clear a manner as the unfavorable conditions under which 
I have labored in their compilation would permit. 

While I have it in mind I want to state that the preparation of this 
work has extended over several years, and has been written somewhat like 
Caesar's "De Bello Gallico," literally between the fights, for I pre- 
sume it requires little argument to convince the average reader who is 
at all familiar with the maelstrom in which a busy editor gets mixed 
up in his routine day after day, that any undertaking, however trivial, 
outside his regular schedule, is sure to call upon his time and nervous 
energy to the extent that he is liable to give up in disgust, and that 
whatever is done aside from routine work must necessarily be accom- 
plished by piecemeal. 

Although my regular duties have been arduous during the period I 
have had the writing of this volume under way, and there have been times 
when I must confess I was weak of flesh, yet I have never relinquished 
my purpose, nor has the pleasure of thinking out the various chapters suf- 
fered one whit of diminution since the undertaking was begun a few 
years ago. 

One thing I must emphasize here and now, and which I would like 
those who may read this book wholly or in part to keep in mind, is that 
I am dealing with principles rather than prices, with facts rather than 
individuals. • 



X FOREWORD 

Principles are eternal. Men come and go, markets rise and fall, crops 
fail, methods change, — in short, prettj' nearly everything connected with 
the i)roduce business is variable and changeable, yet the underlying 
principles with which I have been and am chiefly concerned are as im- 
mutable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. 

The principles to which I refer are, of course, those which I have 
conceived to be underlying and governing the whole scheme of produce 
from a marketing standpoint, and I think no fair minded man who may 
have given the subject any sober thought will dispute that I am correct 
in saying these principles are paramount if anything like successful busi- 
ness is aimed at. Can it be possible that any intelligent grower, shipper, 
dealer or storage man will take the position at this late date that cause 
and effect are not in constant operation in the realm of produce, that 
market changes are not by any means a matter of chance, that from the 
sum total of human experience a rule may not be evolved which may be 
the means of avoiding past errors ? 

Oh yes, I am fully aware that certain perfectly good critics will show 
no mercy in "exploding" some of my "theories," as they will be pleased 
to call parts of my work. Let them do their worst, for, barring a few 
errors of minor importance which are likely to creep into any extended 
treatise of this nature, I am willing to stand behind what I have said 
in this book. All of it has been thought out soberly and at considerable 
length, and I fancy some of it, at least, will survive the day when some 
smart critics will have been relegated to the scrap pile of antiquated and 
forgotten produce adjuncts. 

Certain reforms I have advocated to be sure. How well they will be 
received by the trade in general, and by certain sanctimonious hypo- 
crites in particular, it is not becoming, perhaps, for me to say. But 
as I have measured trade sentiment for nearly ten years, and have come 
into daily touch with some of the best hearts and minds to be found 
in the several branches of the business, it is my belief that the reforms 
for which I am contending are of a i)rogressive nature, some of which 
have been actually realized in part since the work was begun, and there 
are others which I have touched upon that are now about to be accom- 
plished. 

And let's not forget that reforms never work backward. One leads to 
another. We had as well take a broom and like old King Canute, whose 
memory lives because of his folly, try to sweep back the waves from 
the shore as they are heaved forth from the restless bosom of the sea 
as to undertake to stem the tide of reform when once begun. 

I have no delight in being an iconoclast, I am sure. Yet if a Bastille 
is to be stormed and its moss-covered, blood-stained walls are to be 



FOREWORD xi 

razed to the ground I must confess to a dare devil spirit which prompts 
me to join the vanguard that rushes in to smash its gates from their 
rusty hinges. 

When a tadpole reaches a certain stage of development its tail drops 
off automatically. How greatly would the progress of civilization and 
commerce have been accelerated had some scheme been devised in the 
economy of nature for mankind to leave behind the caudal appendages 
we hold in common and which appear to stick to us even after we are 
compelled to speak of them in the past tense. I try to be an optimist ; 
that is why I am in favor of reforms when the time comes to have them. 
Gentlemen, if we had never been blessed with reforms and reformers 
we should not have the great country in which we live today, nor even 
the greater civilization we enjoy, — the greatest in the history of the 
world. 

This book is a serious matter with me ; T hope the thousands of readers 
who may peruse its pages will also take it seriously, except where I 
may have digressed for a moment in lighter vein. I may also say that 
practically the entire work is absolutely original thought with me, com- 
ing mainly from a course of absorption of the subject matter from touch- 
ing elbows daily with produce matters of one kind or another. 

When I made my initial bow into the produce field nearly ten years 
ago, coming from the general newspaper business, it seemed that the 
produce line was nearly all Greek to me, as it must necessarily be to 
any beginner. Immediately I began casting about for some kind of 
book or treatise that would help me get my bearings. I looked in vain, 
for, alas, there was no lamp to help me find my way, though it occurred 
to me that there should at least be something of the nature of a hand-' 
book covering general produce matters from a standpoint that an out- 
sider, who might desire to get a working knowledge of the business, 
could do so more easily than by spending several years watching certain 
things which might as well be told him briefly in such a book as I 
have prepared. 

After having been associated with produce people in my capacity as 
a newspaper man for a short time I had come to understand some things 
a bit better, and having become infatuated with the certain uncertainties 
always turning up, I decided to begin taking notes and reasoning out 
things for myself with a view to putting some of these conclusions into 
print. My idea of the subject became broadened wonderfully after a 
little thought on the matter, and I concluded that any volume that at- 
tempted to go into produce matters from a strictly technical standpoint 
would probably not be worth while, as it would most likely be out of date 



xii FOREWORD 

before the ink was dry on the paper on which it was printed. There- 
fore, I resolved upon fixing up a sort of handbook treating of the prin- 
cijjles which I conceived to be regulating different commodities, and to 
call attention briefly to certain broad characterizations in the fruit and 
produce field, and to touch upon various phases which I deemed of suffi- 
cient interest to be included. 

It was my idea that the volume should serve a double purpose (1) 
in aiding many of the very people in the business themselves to reach 
a viewpoint that might result in their betterment by reason of certain 
changes in thought and action, and (2) in creating a more wholesome 
respect in the public mind regarding the tremendous importance of the 
several branches of the produce business as compared with other lines 
of commercial endeavor. 

That many people in the trade will be more or less influenced by this 
book I have little doubt, for I feel confident most of it will stand the 
wash. But whatever the results may be, my intentions for good cannot 
be questioned. The right must ultimately prevail, and it has been my 
desire to challenge it throughout the succeeding chapters. If it becomes 
evident that I have served in the humble capacity of extolling effectively 
some of the homely virtues as they should be applied to produce affairs, 
I shall feel that my labors have not been altogether in vain. 

Again, if I may succeed in some small degree to awaken, even in- 
directly, in the public mind a realization of the nature and scope of the 
great produce business, and its direct importance to our body politic, I 
shall also feel that the many weary hours I have spent pondering over 
the various subjects covered were better employed than if I had de- 
voted them to some more selfish ends. 

From the various chapter headings it will be easy, I believe, to deter- 
mine the subjects which I intend to apply more particularly to the trade, 
and the same applies to the subjects which I have included more for 
the benefit of the general public, and although the latter chapters are 
merely a cursory glance at the various subjects treated, I feel that a 
majority of people in the trade will not consider it a waste of time after 
they have read them over. Certainly there are many things included 
in the latter chapters, as well as throughout the book here and there, 
which are very well known to most people directly engaged in the prod- 
uce business, still I believe for the reasons set forth in the foregoing 
they will agree with me that it is well enough that the subjects have 
been included and have been handled in the way I have treated 
them. 

It was Dickens, I believe, who said that in every author's heart of 



FOREWORD ' xiii 

hearts there is a favorite child of his creating, and I shall crave your 
forgiveness if I spoil your estimate of my whole scheme by pointing to 
mv eulogy on the "Great American Hen" at the close of the chapter on 
eggs, as being the spot in my brain that is given over to the fairies so 
far as this work is concerned. (Page 191). 

It was written on an impulse several 3^ears ago, and I might say caught 
out of the night and woven from the moonbeams, for on a Sunday night 
in the "wee sma' hours" the idea came to me and I proceeded to jot it 
down partly by moonlight. It is just a foible of course, but I confess 
with pardonable trepidity that I hope it will live after the hand that 
wrote it is cold and pulseless. 

Should the balance of the volume i^rove insipid to you I shall ask 
that you do me the small favor of turning to this jjassage and running 
your eye over it before you toss the book aside and swear at me for 
thrusting it upon you. The Author. 

P. S. — I had almost forgotten to express my thanks to my many 
friends all over the United States for the kindnesses rendered me in 
Iielping to provide some characteristic pictures relating to the growing, 
shipping and marketing of fruit and produce in the different parts of 
our country. 



PRODUCE MARKETS AND 
MARKETING 



CHAPTER I 



THE TRADE DEFINED AND DISCUSSED 

Whoever is engaged in the growing, the shipping or the selling of such 
articles as are usually classed in the category of fruits and produce is 
embraced in what may be more or less affectionately referred to as "the 
trade." 

But it is doubtful if the average person engaged in the business has 
even a fairly intelligent idea of the wide meaning covered by this term 
when it is made to include a conglomeration of growers, shippers, com- 
mission men, jobbers, brokers, auctioneers, solicitors, storage men, specu- 
lators, etc. I sliall not attempt to put a strained construction on a defi- 
nition of "the trade," nor shall I endeavor to make its application more 
clastic than it is in reality, but I hope to establish more clearly just 
who may be entitled to the honor of standing up and being counted with 
the produce public, and tell about the functions of the different kinds 
of men who make up a good share of our population all over the coun- 
try, and who wield a powerful influence financially and politically as 
we shall observe later on. I shall also make some comments on the 
different members of the trade which I hope will prove instructive and 
entertaining to the many peojile that I hope will read this book. 

The grower is a producer. In other words he is the man who makes 
produce, and this is especially true with respect to the fruit and vegetable 
realm. I shall not go so far as to endow the producer with any super- 
human traits which would make him a quasi-creator. I prefer simply 
to class him as an agent in the hands of Providence, a kind of incident 
as it were in the general sclieme of affairs the same as the dealer or the 
consumer. Intelligent growers, whether horticulturalists or merely truck 
growers, nowadays are moi«e careful than formerly in making undue 

1 



2 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

claims about their importance, for they have learned to realize that even 
to make a success of their end of the business there must be careful 
co-operative work in other departments of the shipping and selling ends 
where trained men must do their parts of the necessary labor to com- 
plete the scheme of business. 

But it would be unwise and unfair to withhold a jot or tittle of the 
honor and credit justly due to the men who have wrought so nobly with 
mind and muscle to develop the produce and fruits coming on the markets 
every day. and during the course of a year a number of which staple 
commodities taken severally run well up into the millions of dollars, to 
say nothing of the enormous aggregate of money involved in all kinds 
of fruits and produce over the entire country. 

Nearly every fruit and truck grower may be put down as a farmer, 
but not every farmer can be called a fruit or truck grower. Long ago 
it became evident that the successful fruit grower must be a specialist 
in agriculture. 

Those growers who heretofore were accustomed to regard their busi- 
ness as a kind of pastime and who treated matters in a haphazard way 
are being slowly but surely driven out of the game by a more intelligent 
generation of well trained and well equipped men who are doing business 
in a businesslike way, and who put their best thought and efforts into 
their calling. No better pi'oof can be found of the increasing number of 
intelligent growers than is disclosed by the courses of study in our best 
schools and colleges devoted to horticulture, agriculture, dairying and 
kindred subjects. The various bulletins, pamphlets, j^ear books etc. 
issued by the agricultural departments of the different states and by 
the general government at Washington, which are always in demand by 
our people, bear strong testimony in support of the conclusion that the 
era of guess work and clumsy plans has given way to one where exact 
scientific methods produce absolutely certain effects from certain definite 
causes. Yet these documents are sometimes a hindrance instead of a 
help as we shall see later. 

The frequent well attended meetings among growers in different sec- 
tions of the country where vital topics are discussed also show the spirit 
of progress that is performing such wonders in these latter days. The 
numerous periodicals relating to the several phases of the growing and 
the marketing of fruits, vegetables and other produce, and which publi- 
cations are marvels of ingenuity in some respects, also bear mute testi- 
mony to the class of men they serve. It is an axiom in journalism that 
a periodical must be an exponent of the clientele it serves, and I can 
offer no better compliment to the growers and the trade generally than 



THE TRADE DEFINED AND DISCUSSED 3 

to submit in evidence the many excellent papers and magazines devoted 
to the growing and marketing of fruits and produce. 

Surely, every man who hopes for even ordinary success should read 
all the good literature in his line that can be obtained and I would urge 
that all growers subscribe for one or more of such papers or magazines 
as relate to his sphere, for he will soon find he can learn a great deal 
from them that he could not get otherwise. Besides, there are quite a 
few standard authorities on different topics that no grower can aiford 
to do without, and a small library of well selected books is a very neces- 
sary adjunct to the orchard or truck farm if the best results are to be 
had nowadays. Sj^stematic study affords pleasure as well as assured 
profits, and the rainy days or long winter evenings can be used to good 
advantage in laying out plans and solving questions for which there is 
little time to think when the rush season is on in hot weather. 

It is no aim of mine in this volume to be didactic or ultra critical, and 
I realize that out of the thousands who will peruse this work perhaps 
only a few will need to be impressed with the importance of thorough 
preparation for their work. But there will be a few, I hope, who have 
not been awakened that will be aroused, and it shall be the proudest act 
of my life to know I have spurred a laggard here and there to a reali- 
zation of the possibilities in him and in the business he follows which 
should play second fiddle to no other line, I care not what it may be. 
In a later chapter we shall go more fully into the importance of correct 
information for the grower and dealer. 

Shippers of fruits and produce are those who send shipments to market, 
but the term is variously used to embrace a class of widely different 
individuals, for not all shippers are the same, as we shall presently see. 
Many growers and raisers of different kind of produce are likewise 
shi23pers, but not every shipper is a grower or producer, for the busi- 
ness of a shipper, strictly defined, is primarily and essentially that of 
a buj^er or concentrator. Indeed, in a great many cases the men who 
follow the business of shipping fruits and produce in commercial quan- 
tities, as car lots or even less, have to devote their whole time to col- 
lecting the commodities they may handle in the territory they cover, and 
thus make a primary market of their shipping point, as I shall point out 
in a subsequent chapter. 

Ordinarily, shippers of all kinds of produce are divided into two classes, 
viz. : car lot shippers and less than car lot shippers. Some of both classes 
ply their trade season in and season out, while others are shippers only 
at such seasons as they have produce to market from their respective 
localities. Again, some men known as shippers of produce do not con- 



4 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

fine themselves to any particular commodity for a given season only, 
but devote their entire time to collecting and shipping a general line 
of produce during such time as the products handled are available. 

Many shippers buy and ship produce largely as an accommodation to 
the people with whom they trade in a retail way. Now and then a 
country merchant who has little or no instinct or inclination for engag- 
ing in the business of a shipper of produce finds that his rural customers 
have a surplus of eggs, poultry, butter, pelts, furs, etc. which they will 
barter for calico, coffee, tobacco, ammunition, etc. and he has a double 
incentive to "trade" if he can see a profit on both his purchases and his 
sales. There is an enormous amount of produce traffic that originates 
in this way, for the ever increasing supply of "raw materials" of a 
hundred and one different kinds is always in excess of the supply of 
ready cash among country people who must have "store goods." There- 
fore, the farmer, the trapper, the housewife, etc. in the country find it a 
convenience to dispose of their various wares, often of varied quality 
and still more varied market value, for such trinkets or staples as the 
country store or even town store may have to offer. This identical com- 
mercial fact was in many cases the prime motive that made the daunt- 
less pioneer traders push westward from the Atlantic seaboard in our 
early history to establish trading posts where "poor Lo" could exchange 
skins, furs, gold, etc. for beads, firewater, and othf trinkets for which 
he exhibited a craving. I shall not try to rake up trade acquaintance 
with Cartier, Daniel Boone and other celebrities of our school books 
with a view to changing their status in history, but I submit that trading 
was the chief motive which caused hundreds of early adventurers to 
strike out through the wilderness and brave the dangers and hardshijjs 
of an unknown region inhabited by savages and wild beasts. In nearly 
every case the trading post was the forerunner of the settlements and 
the missions which later developed marvelous results from insignificant 
beginnings. Authorities are a unit, I believe, in the opinion that com- 
merce is the most potent factor in spreading civilization and I subscribe 
fully to the theory. The handlers of produce have had their share in 
tleveloping our country. 

I realize that it is a digression from my subject, but I cannot refrain 
from making the observation that men engaged in virtually the same 
line of trading in the early days of our history in this country were only 
another type and were very similar to hundreds of produce concen- 
trators and shippers today. And I am not going out of my way for an 
argtnnent either. Points of comparison are so numerous between the 
trapper, the trader, etc. of early days and many concentrators and their 



J 




« > 



w o 



THE TRADE DEFINED AND DISCUSSED 5 

bands of skirmishers of the present day that they might be considered 
identical in some respects. Many produce men who have camped on 
a snow bank in recent times to round up produce, or who have faced a 
storm all day in a wild country to get their supplies lined up will bear me 
out in my position, I am sure. 

But I am frank to confess that the vocation of a produce shipper now- 
adays is a much more business like career than the early trader could 
claim for his precarious calling. Indeed, there are hundreds of the very 
best business men today engaged in buying up or soliciting country prod- 
uce which the}' are putting in shape for marketing and either selling to 
different markets, or else are putting them in storage to hold for later 
sale. Those who have even a slight acquaintance with the innumerable 
brotherhood engaged in growing, buying and shipping poultry, butter, 
eggs, apples, potatoes, onions and various other produce will bear wit- 
ness that a more intelligent class of men than these good souls, taking 
them all in all, cannot be found. The business makes a man study for 
it is always complex and interesting. 

But there are shippers and shippers. We shall see later on how one 
sometimes makes trouble for himself by his eagerness to get rich quick, 
a malady far too prevalent among our people. We shall later consider a 
certain type of shipper who has his weak side morally and who fre- 
quently gets himself in hot water as well as his fellows and the trade 
generally. We shall also take up the shipper in his numerous guises 
and functions, and endeavor to bring out several conclusions for him, 
and to offer some suggestions for his personal benefit before we shall 
have concluded the last chapter in this work. 

The produce commission merchant is a factor or an agent who does a 
general receiving business and who sells goods for the account of others 
on a percentage basis which varies for different commodities in different 
markets under different conditions. However, most staple lines are 
practically uniform all over the country so far as the commissions go, 
but as I shall take up both the commission men and their commissions for 
frequent discussion later on I prefer to leave them for the present, for 
it would be impossible to bring out in this chapter certain features that 
are essential to a complete understanding of these people who are too 
often misjudged and misunderstood, but whose work and even themselves 
often are judged more wisely than they know. 

The broker is a man who buys or sells for another and who also M'orks 
on a percentage basis which is usually one-quarter of one per cent of the 
purchase price, or else so much a package and sometimes a bonus be- 
sides. Some articles are handled on a car lot basis. Some brokers are 



6 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

receivers while others are not. A broker may be located at one place all 
the time, and then there is another species of broker who travels all or 
part of the time making such purchases or sales for his clients as he may 
be instructed to execute from time to time. And the broker may also 
travel exclusively to sell goods, for there are many brokers who are 
adepts at finding a market, and there are conditions which develop oc- 
casionally that make a good broker a real blessing in relieving a con- 
gested market by finding an outlet for surplus supplies. We shall also 
see more of the broker in subsequent chapters. 

The jobber of fruits and produce is an intermediary between the whole-" 
saler and the retailer. He handles car lots or less and sometimes both, 
as circumstances may require. Some jobbers deal in car lots exclusively, 
and a jobber must have adaptability and regulate his purchases according 
to the demands of his trade. His territory and his clientage may be re- 
stricted, or he may branch out everj^ where if he can get orders and pro- 
cure goods to fill them. Roughly speaking, the jobber keeps a "fruit 
house" or some other base of supply, and these are usually located in 
the smaller towns that make it easy to obtain and distribute all kinds 
of fruits and produce in certain seasons, at least throughout adjacent 
territory where still smaller towns are located that are not sufficiently 
large to bu}'^ fruits, etc. in car lots or in large wholesale lots. Wholesale 
receivers are often engaged part or all of the time in doing a jobbing 
business. 

The retailer sells to the consumer. This class of traders is made 
up of a widely different aggregation. The retailer may have only a push 
cart witli a few bananas, oranges, apples, etc., or he may have a stand on 
the street corner where a little larger stock of a slightly wider range 
is carried than is handled by the push cart. The retailer of fruits may 
also be in a cigar store where fruits are kept as a side-line, or he may 
be in the corner grocery or in the delicatessen store, in which two places 
people in cities procure most food stuffs, where outrageous prices 
are frequently charged for fruits and produce, and where the consump- 
tive demand is often badly affected, as we shall see later on. 

Again, tlie retailer may be one of that imported class of citizens who 
comes over steerage from Europe and who, through thrift and self denial, 
has accumulated enough to buy a spavined horse and a dilapidated wagon 
which is stocked up usually with cheap goods to be paraded daily througli 
districts inhabited mostly by the laboring classes, and which parading is 
done ceremoniously to the musical chiming of a dinner bell and a choice 
selection of broken English announcing "Fr-e-S-h berries, peas, 
tomat-o-e-s, e-c-s, c-e-s fresli, ees f-r-e-s-li." But this noise is being heard 
less and less in our larger cities for it is clearly a nuisance. 



THE TRADE DEFINED AND DISCUSSED 7 

In short, the retailer may be almost any kind of salesman who cares 
to undertake to sell fruits and produce. The fact that there are so many 
types is a safe indication of the immense business they represent in the 
aggregate, for be it known to all men, there is an ever increasing demand 
for fruits and produce that has never been fully supplied and probably 
never will be. But we shall also see more of this later. 

In making up even an approximately complete list of the different 
people in the trade it would be impossible even if desirable to leave out 
those fellows we all know about, who for convenience are called buyers or 
solicitors ; nobody knows exactly what they are, but still they are known 
to be everywhere and always in action. May the Lord bless the solicitors 
and prepare them a resting place hereafter, for it is a fact they have 
little rest on this mundane sphere, nor do they allow anyone else a rest 
when they drop off at an active shipping station unless they can get a 
shipment rolling on the next train to the houses they represent. There 
is a tradition in some sections of the country that when a lightning rod 
agent dies he undergoes a metamorphosis that evolves a fruit or produce 
solicitor. Certain it is that most of these solicitors are mellifluous gentle- 
men who can assure a score of shippers at one sitting that a porcelain 
door knob is a veritable hot bed on which to grow hair. Surely^ if there 
is anything the solicitor for a produce house needs, and usually has, it 
is "brass/' even if his firm is not always "gilt edge." But if his house is 
one of the kind that sends out long promises and short, slow returns, the 
solicitor finds that "brass" will not go, for the shippers nowadays are 
getting wise and the precious metals, such as gold or silver or the "long 
green" itself must be called into play, and the solicitor, it often happens, 
is no longer a solicitor for consignments, but a buyer for cash. 

But because a solicitor turns buyer is no indication he does so from 
necessity, for it occurs now and then that in the twinkling of an eye a 
telegram may be flashed over the wires from headquarters telling the red 
hot solicitor "Buy everything in sight." How and why this happens 
we shall see in later discussions. But the solicitors are a good class of 
fellows taken all in all, and I have a firm conviction that most of them 
earn every penny they draw for salary and about all the items they are 
charged with entering for "expenses." 

Another group of individuals that is entitled by all rules of law and 
reason to stand up with the produce public and enjoy all the rights and 
immunities granted to the trade is the aggregation of storage men, for 
the cold and common storages play a very important part in the business 
done by produce people, abt)ut which we shall have more or less to say 
later on. The storage men are scattered everywhere, but are found in 



8 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

larger numbers, as they are also found more j)rosperous, in the larger 
market eenters. They differ in nowise from ordinary individuals, and it 
must be said in plain English their ranks are made up of good and bad, 
although it ean be stated that most of them have their hearts in the 
right places and their services to the trade are important and valuable. 

The function of the storage is to take care of goods and provide ware- 
house facilities during certain seasons of the year when supplies are 
in excess of the consumi^tive demands of the country, and when a profit 
seems likely from investment in such commodities at ruling prices if 
properly stored for later sale. Further discussion of the storages and 
storage men is deferred in this connection. 

I cannot refrain from saying a few words about the men who sell 
fruits and produce and who are located in the stores, on the sidewalks 
or throughout the various market places, or who go down on the rail- 
road tracks or on the docks in fair weather and foul, and who must be at 
their places taking care of customers frequently when "the morning stars 
are singing together in glory." 

But there is another type of salesman who travels and travels and 
travels. That it requires a high order of intelligence to be a successful 
salesman in any line is a fact admitted by all, and I think it carries an 
additional force when applied to the produce business. If the average 
shipper, and even a number of commission men themselves, realized the 
true worth of a good salesman the former would take off their hats in 
honor to the brotherhood, and I believe a great many of the latter would 
incline to raise the salesmen's salary and make it a universal rule for 
them to take Saturday afternoons off the year around if possible. No- 
body who has a fair acquaintance with this class of the trade will deny 
that the salesmen are generally skilled in their work, faithful, con- 
scientious, and above all things, energetic in "picking up" every sucker 
that passes down the row. 

It is also necessary to include in our survey of the trade that vast 
concourse of men and women known as the "office force" who are part 
and parcel of the produce aggregation, for there is no getting around this 
fact. These people frequently develop into commission merchants, jDro- 
duce dealers or jobbers themselves, and not a few of the leading lights 
in the trade today remember well the time when they started in the 
business making up account sales, getting out circular letters and advis- 
ing shippers on every conceivable topic, as well as performing an in- 
finite series of chores and detail work. It is also true that numbers of 
successful proprietors and members of firms in the trade that are well 
up the ladder of success were once identified with the ranks of solicitors. 



THE TRADE DEFINED AND DISCUSSED 9 

salesmen, retailers and other positions where salaries or profits were 
small, and where the work was probably laborious and distasteful. But 
the pronouneedi success of numbers of these men in after years proves 
one point that I have in mind and which I had as well express here as 
elsewhere; towit, the produce business in its various branches oifers 
splendid opportunities to the right people, and I hazard the prediction 
that there are more and larger fortunes to be made from this line of 
business in the future than have been made in the past. 

The speculator is another individual who deserves a brief mention 
in this connection, but who will be better understood in a later chapter 
to be devoted mostly to his special benefit and to his peculiar line of 
operations, but through fear of being charged with harboring some preju- 
dice against the speculator, which I disclaim, I prefer to stand him 
up at the present time in company with the balance of the trade and let 
him be counted. 

The crook also deserves mention if for no other reason than to show 
that the trade is not free from the black sheep usually found in any and 
every line of business. I shall elaborate considerably on the crook and 
his methods later on, and I hope to draw some conclusions which will show 
that the crook is not the sole gainer through his crookedness, but that 
he is an educator who will one day probably be given credit for his edu- 
cative value, for it cannot be gainsaid that the crooks who follow the 
produce business have had a wide and lasting influence in educating the 
trade generally. But this question is also worthy of special treatment 
later on and is of sufficient importance to take up a chapter in itself. 

I regret that circumstances dictate my adding just one other type 
found in the ranks of the people whose fortunes are cast in the produce 
band wagon. He is no less a person than the grouch. He is hard to 
define, although easy to locate in some markets, and in some places he 
is in the plural number. To all appearances he has a torpid liver, the 
toothache and a congenital attack of pure cussedness ; he is sore on his 
competitors, the trade and the public generally. He is positive of the 
conviction that everything is rapidly drifting to the "demnition bow- 
wows," and he apparently regards himself the pilot that is trying to 
steer all creation up Salt Creek. The most lamentable shortcoming of 
the grouch is that he never smiles, but that is what makes him a grouch. 
I wish some rule could be established whereby shippers and dealers 
would require commission houses and others in the trade with whom 
they do business to submit proof that proprietors and heads of depart- 
ments of houses have made an affidavit at least once a week that they 
have smiled about something, and that once a month or probably once 
a year they be required to give bond that they will have a good laugh. 



10 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

I have no special grouch for the produce grouch, for I frequently 
laugh at his very penuriousness, and I wish the trade everywhere would 
help me laugh him out of existence. I have a grave doubt if any man 
can be a success handling anything in the produce line who is unable to 
smile even when he is in wrong on a deal and is losing instead of making 
money. 

Everybody in the trade should be cheerful, for there is no calling under 
the sun that needs more sunshine and sympathy than the produce business. 

It is a foregone conclusion I would incur the everlasting animosity of 
another class of people if I should overlook grouping them in the produce 
procession, and you guessed right — the trade paper men. 

Yes, these boys who are as keen after a story or an ad as a trout for a 
fly, must be allowed to go into our census. 

Beyond doubt many of them are of vast benefit to all others in the trade. 



CHAPTER II 

CROOKS AND STRAIGHTS 

Although we have made several classifications in the last chapter in- 
cluding different people engaged in the fruit and produce business, we 
still have another important distinction to draw which will divide the 
rank and file into two grand divisions, viz. : the crooks and the straights. 

I see no chance for an intermediate division, as there can be no half 
way ground. I hold that there is no such thing in reality as near honesty. 
A firm or an individual must be positively straight or positively crooked, 
and while a good reputation is a valuable asset, it does not per se give 
one a passport to enter at will that realm of visions and dreams where 
plus is minus and minus plus, and where the truth is juggled with as 
a fakir does with painted balls. I make no apology for expressing the 
utmost contempt for some individuals and firms who are alleged to be sub- 
stantial pillars in the produce business, and who sometimes exhibit a 
fondness for parading before the trade in a "holier than thou" attitude, 
but who are inwardly ravening wolves. 

The commission merchant who violates his pledges, expressed or im- 
plied, neglects his duties, repudiates his obligations both moral and legal, 
who is fond of shielding himself behind technicalities, who has every 
advantage and uses it as occasion requires, is a menace to the trade at 
large and merits the fullest censure that can be heaped upon him. 

Likewise the shipper who seeks to defraud by means of dishonest pack, 
who breaks faith by refusing to live up to his contracts and agreements 
either written or verbal, and who goes on the general theory that he must 
do everyone before* someone does him, is also a menace to the trade and 
should be the recipient of hard knocks, ill luck, losses, disappointments 
and other jolts to show him he is a nuisance and has or should have no 
place in the great produce business. 

But like the poor, the crooks, known and unknown, are with us always. 
Some are big and some are little ; some operate under cover and usually 

11 



12 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

under a S3'stem that almost defies detection and punishment, and there 
is another and more malignant type that operates on a "catch me if you 
can" system. I have promised to dispense with figures and statistics 
else I should be strongly tempted to submit some facts about the amount 
of money stolen bodily every year by the dyed-in-the-wool produce 
crooks. From actual compilation it is known that the trade has been 
stuck for hundreds of thousands of dollars during the past few years 
by the confirmed crooks who are out for a steal, and who succeed pre- 
sumably because they have the opportunity and the inclination. 

How much is stolen quietly under, cover and how much is "knocked 
down" during a twelve-month by the kid glove crowd, heaven only knows, 
but it would certainly total many times over what is stolen by the more 
daring fellows who set out for a clean up and who are game enough 
to give their victims a run for their money. 

I trust none will be so rash as to judge from the foregoing that I 
mean to say that everybody in the produce business is crooked or morally 
deficient; I have not said as much and I never shall, for it would be 
untrue and I know it. There are as good men in the produce trade, and 
men who are as truthful, as faithful and as lionorable, as can be found 
in any other line of business. Many of this latter kind who take the I 
world to be honest because they are honest themselves, are often forced 
into measures they dislike and look upon with disfavor, but are com- 
pelled to fight the devil with fire, as it were. 

The shipper or association of shippers that secures a bank guarantee 
or an advance covering a certain shipment by making false representa- 
tions as to grade or quality of a shipment or series of shipments, and 
who refuse to keep' faith with a commission man or buyer in a distant 
market by an honest adjustment of losses so caused, and deliberately too, 
will live to find they have stored up trouble against a day when re- 
tributive justice will certainly overtake them, and possibly with a crack 
over the head in one form or another. 

On the contrary, the receiver who misrepresents market conditions by 
overquotations, or who makes a practice of padding first sales to secure 
heavier shipments with a view to recouping his "bait" by clipping oflf 
on averages, is only tampering with fire that will sooner or later burn 
his fingers and possibly retire him from business. 

I fancy someone will charge me with taking this question into deep 
water or putting it on too narrow a plane. * To such I want to emphasize 
that it is only a moral principle which is involved, and it should not be 
too deep, too narrow or too broad for anyone to see and to solve. The . 
old, old truism that none are so blind as those who do not want to see 1 
is applicable to this question with double force. 



CROOKS AND STRAIGHTS 13 

Surely there is sound logic behind me in my argument that dishonesty 
does not pay in the long run, and I do not mean bej'ond the grave cither, 
for I have no license to dig into the theological phase of the subject. 
My case is amply proved without it, so why should I rattle dry bones? 

But I am sometimes given to metaphysical musings over this question 
of crooks and straights. I am frank to say I have no explanation to 
offer as to why the crooks appear to flourish and continue if dishonesty 
does not pay. Were I pressed to explain, I should in true Yankee style 
answer one question by asking another, and my question would be "Why 
is evil in the universe?" And I feel confident my sage interrogator would 
have a nut to crack that would last him awhile, but deep within whose 
kernel would lie the answer and the true solution. 

However, I refuse to argue this theory of destiny as a mitigating 
circumstance for the crooks, as I believe in law and its enforcement, in 
order and its observance, in honesty and its reward ; in short, I am one 
of that old fashioned, wool-hat brigade that take more or less stock in 
such ancient precepts as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto 
you." Understand, this declaration does not necessarily imply that the 
author is heading a crusade to put the whole produce trade on the "golden 
rule" basis, though he is firmly convinced that if it were run more nearly 
on that plan it would yield more pleasure as well as more legitimate 
profit to everyone. 

But whatever else we may say of the crooks, they must be given credit 
for being great educators. Indeed, they are the pedagogues of the pro- 
duce trade. They do more to teach shippers and the trade generally than 
a whole library would do at every shipping station or in every market 
I^lace. When the smooth crook sends out a lot of rainbow promises on 
morning glory stationery to hundreds of gullible shippers, and they are 
caught as has been the case so often, it is a reasonably safe bet that 
the trick will not be repeated soon in that bailiwick, at least with the 
same shippers and the same crook, or even by another crook who ope- 
rates in a similar way. 

Before proceeding further, however, I want to go on record with the 
statement that actual figures from authentic sources show that losses to 
the trade generally from professional produce crooks are actually on 
the decrease compared with several years ago. This desirable state of 
affairs is no doubt due to several causes, but mainly to the fact that 
some of the oldest and shrewdest crooks have been caught, con- 
victed and are now doing time, and to the additional fact that the trade's 
eyes have been opened and the old system of shooting into the dark with 
a blunderbuss is being abandoned for a more modern, business-like system 



14 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

after which to do business. Shippers who receive flattering quotations 
or high oifers for their produce, and dealers who are approached by letter, 
by wire or b}"^ personal visit from people making impossible promises and 
offers, have learned that it is not good judgment to try to get something 
for nothing. May I also be permitted to come out with the flat-footed 
statement that from a moral standpoint the trade has improved and is 
still improving.'' The law of evolution is at work throughout the universe, 
so the scientists say, and it is not hard to see where and how it could be 
applied with signal advantage to the produce business as heretofore con- 
ducted. Since I am a confirmed optimist and am given up to a philosophy 
that believes in the eternal fitness of things, I must say that I have high 
hopes that hundreds of people in the business will one day go into sack- 
cloth and ashes and come forth bringing fruits meet for repentance. 

And why not.'' It is becoming more and more evident all the time that 
sharp practices and dishonest dealings do not pay. The confirmed crooks 
who are drifting from pillar to post, those who have evaded arrest and 
conviction, could tell you not only about the mental anguish they suffer, 
but also the enormous sums they spend to keep out of the clutches of the 
law. The receiver of fruits and produce whose fixed plan is to skin 
shippers when he has the chance, could write an excellent moral treatise 
showing why it is best not to do it, especially if he is approached in his 
declining years when he has had time for sober reflection, and when he 
has realized that life is too short and the stake is too small, and the pangs 
of conscience are too acute and lasting to make crooked dealing worth 
while. 

I know this viewpoint is strictly ethical, but that is the only stand- 
point from which to look the matter squarely in the face. I disclaim 
all intentions of delivering a preachment or to hedge this question about 
with dogmatic stuff, and my sole aim is to establish a foundation on 
simple moral principles which are easily recognized even by a school boy 
once they are set out clearly before him. I trust no one will hazard a 
criticism on his good judgment by advancing the argument that the 
theory I suggest is not correct and does not hold the only proper solu- 
tion which offers no compromise with dishonesty in any shape or form. 
I am fully aware that the bold plunge used by the daring crooks has its 
fascinations, and I presume the slow, certain process of robbery, taking 
off a bit here and a bit there as practiced by some "old houses," with a 
view to piling up an aggregate, also has its momentary charms, for they 
seem to lure the individual on and on like the song of a siren. But over 
and beyond this consideration of gain stands a gaunt spectre taking due 
notice, and who will later thrust a finger before the face- of the guilty 



A WASHINGTON APPLE TREE 3^2 YEARS OLD 



CROOKS AND STRAIGHTS 15 

one and ask the pointed question "Is it worth while?" And the question 
is repeated from time to time under more and more awe inspiring cir- 
cumstances until a negative answer is finally obtained. 

But someone asks "How are we to tell what is honest and what is 
dishonest?" Occasions often arise that require skilled judgment to 
determine where legal or moral principles have been abused, and to as- 
certain liabilities, damages, etc. Long spun out litigation in the hands 
of experienced attorneys and before dignified courts often apparently 
amount to nothing in arriving at what is right and what is wrong. If 
these trained men are unable to establish rights and wrongs and apply 
their proper remedies, which should be based on moral remedies, then how 
is the ordinary individual without special training in dealing with such 
questions to know how best to proceed, especially in such cases where 
there is alleged to be a reasonable doubt as to what is right and what is 
wrong? 

I have no desire to cast an aspersion upon our judicial system or upon 
the proverbial majesty of the law. But this much I do wish to say, that 
in many cases where simple moral questions are involved, and where any 
person of even ordinary intelligence should be able promptly to settle 
the matter at issue in a proper way, the courts frequently take days and 
sometimes months for deliberation, and evolve a learned opinion that 
does not solve the question or questions involved, but through delay and 
quibbling tend to lessen the respect and confidence intelligent people are 
supposed to have for our courts and our laws. Shrewd attorneys too 
often becloud the facts instead of trying to ferret out and exhibit the 
truth. In short, a legal battle is often no contest of law but simply one 
of subterfuge, diplomac}^, bull-dozing courts, witnesses and jurors, and 
sometimes descending to downright slug-duggery. 

The very essense of justice is simplicity. Conscience and reason 
are the two pillows on which it should and must rest. Within every brain 
there is a sure and quiet guide as to what is right and what is wrong, and 
if projDcrly and honestly consulted, the fairly intelligent mind will always 
give a prompt and safe answer by which to be guided in the produce busi- 
ness, as in every other line. And I must say that this guide is infinitely 
to be preferred to all the musty statutes and court decisions that have 
been enacted and handed down since the time of Solon. 

I think it raises no issue whatever for anyone in the trade to draw 
out such false arguments as "I think I liave done no wrong" or "I have 
done nothing worse than all the rest." Such statements only reflect on 
one's judgment and if they are sincere their author should either be 
put through a Sunday School catechism or else tried on a writ of lunacy. 



16 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

I repeat^ dishonesty does not pay. It may cause a flare on the produce 
horizon that looms up like the aurora borealis, but such successes as 
come from dishonesty and trickery are more like shadow than substance, 
and will certainly be dissipated sooner or later, most likely leaving a 
blighting effect behind. 

I had not intended to devote so much time to this phase of the sub- 
ject, nor even to treat it just as I have, but I insist there is no other 
standpoint from which the matter can be properlj' seen, and it must 
and will be properly seen sooner or later by everyone concerned. 

Too often produce crooks are born, but I incline to the belief that 
more crooks are made from environment than are crooked from heredity. 
The very nature of the business we have under discussion is one that re- 
quires trust, and trust invariably opens up an opportunity for wrong 
doing. 

A very large percentage of the produce bought and sold year in and 
year out all over the country is never seen by the purchaser until he 
has already paid for what he has bought, and maybe the man from whom 
he bought did not see the goods himself. An accurate system of grading 
and packing would, therefore, afford a remedy for a large number of 
misunderstandings about the quality, value and condition of fruits and 
produce. 

Transportation is at times a big factor in determining losses or mak- 
ing profits, and we shall see later on that transportation at best is 
always uncertain and a dangerous element to gamble on too far. But 
transportation has to be reckoned with, and if too slow or otherwise 
deficient, often gives rise to disputes that cause trouble and losses. 

But even if grading and packing were put on a system that is 
mathematically perfect, if transportation were always sure and speeds, 
still the personal equations of buyer and seller have to be reckoned with, 
and in the last analysis we are up against the old question so often asked 
and so rarely answered correctly, "Am I in the hands of an honest man 
or an honest house?" 

To undertake to enumerate the several main causes of dishonest}' and 
sharp practices in the produce business would require more time and 
more space than I have at my disposal. Greed, ignorance, jealousy and 
pure cussedness include the leading excuses for crooked dealing, I pre- 
sume, if the truth could be known why some firms and individuals choose 
to become its votaries. 

The desire to get something for nothing, or to get rich quick, which 
has become so widespread in this country as to embrace well nigh all 
the population, is made use of both by the confirmed produce crook and 



CROOKS AND STRAIGHTS 17 

the slick gent in kid gloves, who nevertheless may masquerade as a model 
dealer. 

It was remarked in olden times that men easily believe what they 
wish to be true, and I must say that the converse of this also holds good. 
The country merchant who has an opportunity to buy up a lot of poultry 
or eggs during the active shipping season and make a "mint of money," 
and who gets some overquotations which he knows or ought to know 
are out of line with common sense, and who plunges headlong into buy- 
ing and shipping several cars of stock into which he has put several 
thousand dollars of cash money, is no doubt actuated from the same 
motives that inspire our grandees on the stock exchange and the pro- 
motors of various fake enterprises, for they are all looking for easy money. 
The only difference I see between them is that the stock jobbers and 
promoters usuall}^ find the money they are looking for, although they 
may soon part company with it to other sharpers, but the country mer- 
chant who had dreams about retiring from business on his poultry or 
egg profits is generally left witliout his investment even, to say nothing 
of his prospective gain. I shall not try to disprove that the expectant 
nit-rehant is a wiser although a poorer man, and it is dollars to doughnuts 
that he profits from tlie experience referred to. There are hundreds of 
these fellows over the country too. 

I think it fair and proper in this connection to make the statement 
that after observing carefully for several years all kinds of produce 
people and their methods, I am convinced some men do questionable 
things not from choice but from apparent necessity which is brought 
about by insane competition often too malignant and widespread in the 
trade. 

Sometimes it is a fierce struggle in the produce game to obtain new 
business and, forsooth, to hold old business. In a growing section where 
shipments are being lined up by commission men, say upon a three 
per cent rebate to local agents for soliciting consignments, a certain 
competitor of a certain house in a certain market who is either not "in" 
on that section, or who does not secure as much business there as he 
wants and thinks he should have, will have a representative visit the 
section in question and go his competitor one better by giving a four 
per cent rebate to the local who has the influence, and is using it to 
throw too much business to the house he has lately solicited for on a 
three per cent basis. What will the house do that has been paying 
three per cent? In all probability the rebate of tliree per cent takes 
nearly half of the straight commission, and it requires every penny of 
the balance realized from commissions arising from sales of goods to con- 
duct an honest business. 



18 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

What is the result? 

Competition must be met? 

It must? 

Then why not continue this folly and undertake to sell the shipments 
at destination for absolutely no commissions and still give a rebate? 
Such could be done as well as to allow insane, underhand methods to 
make the rebate so large as to absorb the legitimate profits arising from 
handling the goods by an honest commission house. Too often it has 
been the case when a state of affairs arise such as I have indicated, that 
the house rebating three per cent in the first instance will meet the 
competition, and give the local five per cent rebate, but it is a safe bet 
somebody pays the bill if a loss results to the house in handling the 
shipments, and it easily can be seen that the cost, which is the loss in 
this case, must and will be figured out of the business some way. We 
leave out of consideration the matter of allowing a fair profit to the com- 
mission house, — here we draw the veil and will forbear even the sug- 
gestion of a steal. And if stealing is done what is the cause? What 
can it be but insane competition? For this malady there should be a 
remedy, and in a later chapter I shall suggest one. 

Likewise, an honest commission man v/ho knows it is wrong to "pad" 
or "stuff" account sales to make it appear that first shipments sell for 
more than they actually bring in order to secure heavy shipments later, 
may have no choice in so doing, but if he knows you well he will prob- 
ably explain confidentiall}'' that he has to pad and stuff sales or his 
"padding" competitor will get all his business away from him. 

Although I cannot accept insane competition as a legitimate excuse 
for questionable practice, still we had as well acknowledge it as a cause 
for immorality and condemn it as vehemently as possible. All forms 
of temptation which tend to make produce people err should be restricted 
so far as possible and totally removed when they can be dispensed with. 
Whether moral restraints can be established by co-operation among the 
better element in the trade so as to provide a remedy, or whether a 
rigid federal regulation governing commission men and their commis- 
sions will best accomplish it, or whether some other plan should be 
adopted, will come up for full discussion before this work is finished. 

I have said a good deal about the crooks in the trade and I shall have 
more to say later. The straights are not being slighted by me on 
purpose owing to any failure of appreciation of their virtues. In con- 
sidering them T have proceeded on the assumption that those who 
are whole need not a physician. 

But there are lots of straights in the trade, although I do not know 



CROOKS AND STRAIGHTS 19 

them all. Nobody does. Let us rest in the assurance that there is an 
Eye that sees; and seeing, knows; and knowing, will judge and judge 
aright. 

And let us be broad enough and charitable enough to hope that some 
day it will all come right, and there shall be no more crooks, but all the 
ways shall be straight and pleasant and eternal, and that all produce 
men shall delight in walking in that manner. 

There may be a millennium in the produce trade some day. Who 
knows? It is not impossible, but it can only come when men are honest 
with themselves as well as with everyone else. 



CHAPTER III 

THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF MARKETS 

In the matter of making and maintaining a market it is quite evident 
that there must be a buyer and a seller. It is also necessary that the 
former have the wherewithal to buy or to give in exchange, and it is also 
essential that the latter have something of value to barter or offer for 
sale. 

When these two conditions are fulfilled with respect to the vendor and 
vendee, the next essential thing is that a basis of exchange be established 
and recognized as a guide for trading. This is only another way of 
expressing the matter of price. Reduced to its last analysis, a price 
should always be a true exponent of value. It is unfortunate, however, 
that such is not always the case, for it often occurs, as we shall see 
later on, that prices and market quotations frequently serve rather to 
conceal than to reflect actual values and market conditions. 

Of course, the prices asked and given in handling different article^ 
of fruits and produce, or any other article for that matter, may be in- 
fluenced by different causes that are so numerous and varied as almost 
to defy classification and description. 

Whatever else may be said about prices, it is clear that they serve as 
a kind of barometer for business, and must be accepted as a criterion 
for good or bad trading and serve to stimulate business or make trading 
slow up. We shall observe later that some of the different elements which 
have an important bearing on the matter of prices are not always to be 
found on the surface, but have to be looked for with the eye of an analyst, 
and that certain factors have to be subdivided if we are to really under- 
stand thoroughly the proposition we are dealing with. It would be im- 
possible in this connection to go into a full discussion or even to enu- 
merate anything like all of tlie factors tliat must be considered. They can 
be better taken up in other chapters for thorough discussion. 

It has been very truthfully as well as tersely stated that a thing is 

20 



THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF MARKETS 21 

worth what it will fetch. But the ruling price of a given commodity 
may not represent the actual inherent value of the article unless we 
confine all discussion of values strictly to the present tense. In view 
of the fact that nearly all commodities embraced in the produce business 
are of a more or less perishable nature, and owing to the fact that the 
business is highh'^ speculative within itself, it is quite evident that prices 
fluctuate to keep track of values which are ever-changing and which con- 
stitute a study in themselves that may well engage the most astute reason- 
ing that can be applied to economics and trade. 

Prices that are being asked and given today for any produce commodity 
may or may not represent the actual value of the commodity in question, 
as we shall see later. But values and prices of different articles have 
been frequently confused to the undoing of not a few, as I hope to em- 
phasize in this and other chapters treating on the handling of fruits and 
produce. 

Indeed, it is no easy matter always to say whether or not ruling prices 
exceed actual values or vice versa, for what may be true of a staple article 
like apples during the present season, may be, and almost to a certainty, 
will be very different from the conditions that will prevail and govern 
next year, the year after and ever after. Perhaps this one feature of 
constant change is an essential factor in making the produce business 
such a luring game. The true perspective is nearly always difficult to 
draw, and like a kaleidoscope, is constantly changing and different at 
every turn, the last always appearing to be the most brilliant in color 
and the most beautiful in design, especially when things are running 
smoothly and nice profits are forthcoming. 

After all, the ruling price for a given commodity only means that 
traders, investors, speculators or any other name you may please to call 
purchasers who buy for immediate or future use, have put their seal of 
approval on the opinion that a given commodity selling at a given price 
is worth the value indicated by that price. 

As a general rule good prices mean good business in any market for 
any commodity, but there is such a thing as getting prices too high so that 
speculative buying runs riot and intrinsic values are forgotten or else 
submerged for the time being, and a period of retrenchment or reaction 
may be expected to follow an erratic spell when prices and values have 
been estranged temporarily. 

Of course, the prices asked and given in handling different articles of 
fruits and produce or any other article may be influenced in an upward or 
downward way by different causes, all of which would be really hard to 
single out and give their proper value in making up the market. 



22 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

The simple question: "Why do prices change?" opens up an unlimited 
field for discussion, but those accustomed to taking a superficial view of 
matters appear to be quite satisfied to attribute the condition of any mar- 
ket to supply and demand as the two ruling factors, and apparently never 
care to trouble themselves with analyzing these two factors to see what 
influences are responsible for their existence, and which perhaps in- 
directly results in the favorable or unfavorable trend of the market from 
time to time. 

It is readily conceded that supply and demand are constantly dictating 
the fixing of prices, but this axiom about supply and demand ruling prices 
only states half the truth, and he is short-sighted indeed who is unable 
to see that supply and demand are themselves capable of almost infinite 
analysis and subdivision. 

It frequently happens that a minor member of either leading factor 
which is grouped for convenience under supply or demand, looms up as 
a great influence in making prices go up or down, and although the over 
or under-sujiply, or the demand or lack of it, may be designated for 
convenience as the real cause for the upward or downward tendency in 
prices, still the close observer is bound to see that something over and 
above the sheer supply and demand themselves is in operation with telling 
force. To say the least, a careful reasoner on market matters should look 
beneath the surface of these two factors if he cares to get a proper grasp 
of market conditions and profit in the future from past experience, pre- 
venting the repetition of mistakes which probably could have been avoided 
if he had devoted a little more gray matter to the business he has in hand. 

Too often the weather is overlooked as a potent and far-reaching influ- 
ence in making and breaking the markets for different produce commodi- 
ties. Those of long experience know that certain articles are sometimes in 
slow demand, and that it is difficult to assign a cause for this sluggish con- 
dition until the weather is taken into account. 

Not only does prevailing weather for the time being affect the con- 
sumptive requirements for different kinds of produce through its indirect 
influence on the consuming public at the time a given article is being 
placed on the market, but it should also be borne in mind that weather 
conditions have a very far-reaching effect in the producing of good or 
bad quality in different kinds of produce that are to be placed on the 
market at some later date, and which jiroduce may meet with poor sale 
during good weather for selling, owing- to inferior quality coming as a 
direct result from unfavorable weather conditions when the commodity 
in question was being grown or prepared for market. 

I think it cannot be disproved that the weather is the most important 



THE MAKING AND BREAKINCx OF MARKETS 23 

influence affecting or relating to supply and demand, for it may influence 
cither or both, directly or indirectly. 

It frequently occurs that in the face of a heavy sup})ly of a given com- 
modity the market maintains an activity and a firmness which can hardly 
be accounted for. Naturally, there must be some buying demand, or spec- 
ulative demand if you please, else the market would collapse. A good 
many people in the trade simply characterize the situation by saying there 
is a good demand, and lose sight of the unique situation, in that supplies 
are heavy with prices ruling higher than they would ordinarily under 
normal conditions, and never so much as stop to inquire why the demand 
is in the market when one would naturally expect, under such conditions, 
a slower selling at lower prices. 

After all, there is a very unique relation which supplies and values 
should sustain to each other on the one hand, and on the other hand, de- 
mand and prices are found to be similarly related. 

Forsooth, the matter of supply determines the value. It might be stated 
with equal truth that demand fixes the price. 

We could with mathematical accuracy write the formula out by propor- 
tion that would run something like this: As the supply is to the value, so' 
is the demand to the price. The last member of the equation is always 
comparatively easy to get at; the first member is difficult to establish be- 
cause it is an unknown variable in most cases. Largely, it is a case of 
adapting the mental to the material. 

I think it cannot be successfully contradicted that values are deter- 
mined by supply whether we realize it or not, but we certainly do realize 
that the demand fixes the price. Values are real, prices may be fictitious ; 
a supply is a fact, a demand may be a fancy, as many of the speculators 
in produce commodities could bear witness. 

We are bound to agree that the supply of any produce commodity may 
be affected in a score of different ways, and it would hardly be an exag- 
geration to make the same statement with regard to the demand, for as 
we have seen, they are capable of subdivision, and must be subdivided if 
they are to be intelligently studied or correctly understood. I am frank 
to confess that I believe the coming generation will be able to calculate 
more nicely the nature and scope of the various subdivisions of these two 
factors, and I fancy some startling discoveries may be brought to light 
sooner or later. 

The purchasing power of the consuming public is easily one of the 
most important things to be considered in summing up the question of de- 
mand, but now and then a whim on the part of the general public is 
exhibited for or against a certain commodity, and the author believes the 



24 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

causes of these whims can better be traced in the field of ]jsychok)gy, al- 
though he thinks it proper to call attention to them in this connection, for 
they are known to be in constant operation. 

Why the consuming public will take considerably more of ,i given com- 
modity, for example apples or eggs, even at a higher price under certain 
conditions than vnider other similar conditions at another time, is a prob- 
lem that some psychologist of the future generation may be able to trace 
out and solve more correctly when complete scientific investigation relating 
to sentiment as applied to people in the aggregate has been made, and it 
is established that tliese whims are not due to haphazard or caprice, but 
are traceable to certain fixed laws which are now unknown except in their 
effects. 

And I fancy somebody will raise the point that all of this is far-fetched 
and visionary. It is. But what is a market but a matter of opinion? It 
is mental, not material. Markets simply change because men's minds do. 
If all conclusions and opinions were correct we might as well expect 
stationary prices except where there would be a surplus or a scarcity of 
a given commodity that might result in higher or lower prices temporarily. 

But it is perhaps fortunate for the rank and file of mankind that every- 
body does not reason correctly and that wrong opinions, which result in 
the undoing of some folks, give somebody else who possesses the knack of 
reasoning more closely, the opportunity to make a profit from the mistakes 
of their less fortunate fellow creatures. Mind you, I have not said that 
this is right or is like things ought to be. But I am not responsible for the 
conditions ; I simply call attention to their existence and some of the pos- 
sibilities they open up. 

When everybody in the produce business possesses a reasonable share 
of that most uncommon kind of sense — common sense — there will be less 
violent fluctuations in the market, for there will be fewer speculators. 

When the trade at large 2Days at least some attention to the elementary 
principles of psychology a lot of things which are now shrouded in 
mystery will become more or less simple, and will therefore be the more 
easily controlled. To better illustrate the thought in mind we might refer 
to electricity, that subtle force which always existed everywhere and 
which nobody doubted. Yet its potentiality and practical uses were un- 
known until the principles which underlie its generation and control had 
been mastered and harnessed. The same old force which broke out occa- 
sionally and flashed through the sky for ages and ages has been bridled 
and shackled, and it does our bidding in supplying our needs and meeting 
our wishes in a thousand different ways. We have come to master it by 
discovering its inner nature. Some will probably fail to grasp the thought 



THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF MARKETS ^25 

ill the author's mind, but he has no doubt the great majority of readers 
will see the point, and he hopes there will be some profit from the illus- 
tration so far as mastering markets go. 

What is needed among produce people is a more intelligent study of 
the science of marketing. And this study is bound to lead to an analysis 
of the relation between supplies and values, as compared with the con- 
nection between demand and prices. In all the making and breaking of 
markets there are fixed laws in operation, and the more closely these laws 
are studied and complied with the better for all concerned, especially for 
the speculators who have paid to fix prices or force markets on some 
occasions when they later find they have strained the relations between 
prices and values, between the supply and the demand, to the breaking 
jjoint. 

The subject of speculation is too important and far-reaching to receive 
proper treatment in this connection, and I deem it necessary to take up 
the subject in a later chapter so as to draw a distinction between specula- 
tion and legitimate business, and set down some other observations whicli 
may not come amiss. Yet it may be stated here that speculation is merely 
an effort to anticipate the meeting of prices and values. 

Going back a little way to the subject of actual trading and actual mar- 
kets, we must agree that the inspiration of all trading lies in the matter 
of making a profit. 

The prime motive which governs the commission merchant or the prod- 
uce dealer in the conduct of his business is that of gain. The same ap- 
plies, of course, to the producer, grower and shipper. In short, the whole 
scheme of business depends on the question of dollars and cents, and it is 
a matter of fact that unless a fair profit is realized on the capital and labor 
invested, business itseW must be discontinued. 

Therefore, the produce buyer whether at wholesale or at retail, pur- 
chases wholly from the standpoint of an investment, and the seller parts 
company with his goods in view of a profit. However, it must be admitted 
that sales of various fruits and produce are sometimes made to prevent 
losses rather than with a profit in view. But this last named species of 
sale can hardly be listed with the usual run of transactions, for they are 
nothing more or less than sacrifices, although they may be prompted by 
good judgment to protect money invested. Frequently a line of goods is 
moved either in a primary or distributing center on a close margin because 
their owner, or agent having charge of their sale, may believe he is as- 
suming considerable risk in holding a perishable commodity for later sale, 
fearing a possible deterioration in quality or a threatened decline in the 
market. 



26 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

But as a usual thing there are really few bargains in the produce busi- 
ness as the word is generally understood. By this I mean downright, will- 
ful sacrifices of values. In other words, most people engaged in every 
branch of trade understand that business is business, which, being trans- 
lated into everyday English, means no one is trading for his health alone, 
and there is no excuse or apology necessary for this apparently sordid 
view of matters, as it is the profit — the dollar — that animates and moves 
the grower, shipper, buyer and seller under nearly all conditions, and en- 
ables them all to survive and continue the scheme of growing, shipping 
and selling. To do business that involves swapping dollars surely is scant 
encouragement, and worse still is the taking of losses which result too 
frequently, and which are nearly always induced by speculators who have 
failed or refused to learn that prices and values are by no means identical, 
and that the prevailing demand and apparent supply should not always 
dictate the plan of action they should follow. 

In the matter of buying and selling, we might say that the best time to 
buy is when others want to sell, and vice versa. Unfortunately, this rule 
cannot be followed blindly, but as a general proposition its correctness will 
stand the test of time. 

Relatively speaking, there are cycles or periods of time in which certain 
articles in the produce field have to be bought and sold if a profit is to be 
expected. But now and then it happens that a nervy trader will prolong 
his operations and hit things right for a big killing after the statute of 
limitations has expired in a given commodity for a given season. But 
these occurrences are chiefly notable for their infrequency, and are, there- 
fore, bad business because of their uncertainty. Speculators have been 
fooled time and again by drifting with the current, or possibly depending 
on the steam rising from their heated imaginations for ability to travel 
in whatever direction thev hoped the market would go. We shall go into 
this further when we come to consider speculation per se. 

While we are discussing the matter of markets we might profitably in- 
quire into the nature and character of some of the markets, or market 
places, involved in the concentration and the distribution of the thousand 
and one kinds of fruits and produce, for there are possibly a few details 
and points that may be worth while to set down in this connection. 

All markets may be divided into two classes. 

The first may be considered as a primary or initial market where goods 
originate in commercial quanlities, and this class includes such places as 
loading stations, creameries, packing plants, orchards, etc. In other 
words, wherever produce, of whatever kind, may be grown, produced, 
packed or shipped. 



I 



THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF MARKETS 27 

The second kind may be designated as secondary or distributing cen- 
ters, and are usually understood to be such markets as handle wholesale 
lots of various kinds of produce, either for immediate or future distribu- 
tion for consumptive requirements. 

All markets have feelings or tones, which are said to be firm, steady, 
easy or weak, according to the sentiment among buyers and sellers as 
varying circumstances may dictate. 

A firm or strong market is understood to mean one where holders of 
goods are firm in their ideas about prices relating to a given commodity, 
and under a firm feeling the price is not subject to a decline, but rather 
tends upward. 

A steady market is a shade weaker than the one just referred to, but 
the steady feeling also indicates a very healthy condition in business. 

An easy market means buyers have little trouble in finding sellers of a 
given commodity at established quotations, and usually indicates that 
prices may be shaded to make sales. 

A weak market means that a decline in price is likely, and the feeling 
is generally weak as to maintaining established quotations relating to some 
particular commodity. To quote a market as being weak is only another 
way of predicting a decline unless some unexpected change develops. 

A dull market usually means about the same as an easy or weak situa- 
tion, but without a pronounced weak feeling. 

A market that has been forced is one that is usually the outgrowth of 
an abnormal demand which usually results from those who are in posses- 
sion of a sufficient volume of supplies, going to the extreme of forcing 
buyers to pay more than the actual values would dictate under normal 
conditions. 

All markets are subject largely to the same influences in their making 
or unmaking, although local conditions may affect different markets in a 
varying degree. But as a general proposition the larger market centers 
exert far more influence on sentiment and prices than the primary mar- 
kets, yet the larger market centers are often subject to fluctuations that 
sometimes fail to reach the primary markets with their influence in this 
respect. 

But as a usual thing what hurts or helps one market extends to others 
that handle the same commodity, for the present network of transporta- 
tion lines and the different media for exchange of information have ac- 
tually converted the entire country into one big market, and sales are 
taking place every hour in the day involving carlots, sometimes trainloads, 
of different fruits and produce in transit all over the continent. 

Now, after considering the matter of markets from several angles in 



28 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

the brief survey of the subject as we necessarily have taken, the author 
believes that the most important thing yet remains to be said regarding 
sentiment as a controlling factor in the making and unmaking of markets, 
and I hardly feel that the subject could be dropjjed without some refer- 
ence to this essential element as a factor in shaping trade conditions. 

Sentiment is purely mental, not material, and those who have not made 
a careful study of the subject can hardly understand or appreciate the 
effect of this subtle element, not only in produce matters, but in commerce 
generally. And I may say that in many cases it applies much more 
strongly to the produce business than to some other lines of trade, because 
of the fact that the produce business is highly speculative, especially for 
different commodities at different seasons, and under varied conditions as 
they must necessarily exist. 

Sentiment is ever present in all markets and it exerts an influence on the 
price of every commodity, although that influence may be more or less 
pronounced in different circumstances. 

Sentiment may be considered as a slender silken thread by which a 
commodity may be raised higher and higher if the tension is not too strong 
on the delicate fiber ; but when overloaded snaps suddenly, sets the law of 
gravity in rapid operation and sends things to the bottom with a crash. 
You can doubt the presence of sentiment if you wish ; you can deny its 
influence if you prefer ; but it can never be discounted, and the wise trader 
in the produce business knows he must regard sentiment literally as the 
North Star of commerce. 

As a matter of fact, it is a criticism on one's intelligence to run counter 
to sentiment too far or too strong, although it sometimes hapjDcns that the 
entire produce trade is wrong in its conclusions about the intrinsic values 
of certain commodities, and about other matters, the same as the great 
public at large is wrong now and then regarding politics, theology, law 
and various other propositions. 

But I insist that as a general rule sentiment must be heeded, for he is 
playing with live coals and gun-powder who is so bold as not to recognize 
and respect sentiment because of its powerful influence on business. It is 
far from my purpose to make a fetich of sentiment, for it is clearly the 
creature and not the creator. Sentiment is great, but the man who makes 
it is greater. A single individual can and often does create sentiment or 
change it on occasions when it is wrong, sometimes even when it is right. 
But once sentiment is founded on fact, becomes congealed and is well es- 
tablished, its effect on prices, making for riches or ruin, can rarely be 
doubted or discarded, and it is of this truthful sentiment to which I have 
special reference when I speak of its potentiality. 



THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF MARKETS 29 

But even if sentiment is false and at the same time widespread, it may 
be as much as one's fortune is worth to try to stem it, as it is well nigh 
a fact, though founded on false premises, if everyone believes or feels a 
certain way with reference to a given commodity, and that feeling runs 
counter to a guess upon which to hazard a good sum of money in specula- 
tion, especially if the season is drawing near a close when the commodity 
in which money is invested must be sold in order to prevent a loss, 



CHAPTER IV 



SPECULATION 



It is a fact generally recognized, I believe, that the entire produce busi- 
ness from start to finish is more or less speculative, and therefore, more 
or less a gamble. 

But the term speculation as applied to the stock exchange or the grain 
pit is not identical with the game of chance we find in growing, packing, 
shipping or dealing in produce, yet it is the element of chance that enter.v; 
into both which makes the respective lines hazardous to a degree. 

Doubtless the main cause of the speculative nature of the produce busi- 
ness is to be found in the highly perishable nature of the many commodi- 
ties classed as fruits and produce. 

But aside from this the element of probability extends even to the grow- 
ing and producing of all kinds of produce commodities. There are so 
many different factors to be reckoned with all along the line in every 
branch that it can almost be stated without fear of successful contradiction 
that nothing is sure in this business until it has happened, and you are 
sure that it has happened. 

Therefore, it is not strange, but on the contrarj^ very natural, that there 
will be speculation where the field is scJ inviting, for man by natural in- 
stinct is somewhat a gambler. I shall be fair enough, however, to spare 
the feelings of those who may take issue on this score, for I know a great 
many men in the trade studiously avoid a game of chance ; yet I submit 
that every time they stake a sum of money on a car of apples or a lot of 
eggs, or on a growing crop, they are only putting up so much money 
against a higher card, as it were, and their number is legion who have 
patiently watclied the deal and have seen their profits and often their 
stakes swept away by a cruel ace, and now and then just a plain deuce 
is all that is required to make one lose his money — sometimes his religion 
too. 

It is quite true the clement of probability is not encouraged by the trade 

no 



SPECULATION 31 

at large for tlie sheer fun of gambling, but it is inherent in the very nature 
of the business that there must be downs as well as ups, — losses as well 
as profits. 

A freeze over night may change the scheme of business in a hundred 
markets and may affect prices or values, maybe both, for a score of differ- 
ent articles, maybe for a day, maybe for a season. A heavy rain or storm 
may ruin the combined results of capital and labor expended with great 
skill in a promising produce investment. 

We have already noted the far-reaching effects of the weather on mar- 
kets, and it cannot be emphasized too strongly that the weather is the 
greatest single factor that is in constant operation directly or indirectly 
in making or losing fortunes in produce. To make myself clear I should 
say the uncertainties of the weather induce speculation. 

But it is an ill wind that blows good to nobody. What is the loss of one 
is often the gain of another. Severe injury to the Florida orange crop 
only means that there will be a heavier demand for oranges from Califor- 
nia or from some place else, provided they can be had. Injury to the 
poultry crop in Iowa is a forerunner of better prices for poultry from 
Missouri, Kansas and elsewhere. 

These circumstances, which might be cited and varied indefinitely, only 
serve to emphasize the original proposition that the produce business is 
more or less of a gamble. About the only advantage that poker or faro 
can claim over the produce business is that the latter is usually more long 
drawn out and more nerve racking and torturing when it goes wrong. 
But when it goes right and you make a "ten strike," sometimes you can 
hardly be resuscitated from a sinking spell due to suspense so as to hear 
the glad news. 

However, there is one sweet consolation from a comparison of an out 
and out gamble and the quasi-gamble in the produce business, and that 
is the "sure thing" of the con man will break you to a certainty if you 
go against it long enough and strong enough, but in the produce business 
some men win although they follow the business purely in a speculative 
way, and there are not a few who reduce the element of chance to a mini- 
mum and make startling successes in one line or another. 

In this connection, I think it worth while to set at rest some impres- 
sions that appear to have gained currency to the effect that the produce 
business is a sort of gold mine or an adjunct of the treasury department 
at Wnsliington because of its opportunities in sj^eculating. We fre- 
quently hear of a bold ])lunge in a certain commodity which results in fab- 
ulous profits, and the lucky individual or individuals promoting the deal, 
are showered with congratulations for their nerve and foresight. But we 



32 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

rarely see an^ything printed or hear a word about the fellows that go 
against the game and lose. 

There are numerous wrecks lying in the wake of this alluring business 
which are monuments to the god of failure. Indeed, it is recounted in the 
annals of the trade that in times gone by many a firm have set their barks 
adrift at the firing of the morning gun, with sails spread high and 
wide over as well manned and sea-worthy argosies as ever plied the 
Cathay coast for gold and indigo in the classic days of yore, — a clear sk}"- 
above, a smooth sea ahead, and the barks, they say, proceeded on their 
way for a time, safe, serene and rejoicing. But towards high noon a gath- 
ering storm descended and the tossing ships were at the mercy of the 
waves ; before an hour passed they were driven on an unchartered rock, 
and before the next setting sun the cargo and crew were dashed to pieces 
and floated hither and thither by the surging billows and howling winds. 
When drifting spar and wreckage washed ashore in the calm that fol- 
lowed the storm, the world paused and wondered how it could have hap- 
pened so suddenly, so sadly and with so little warning! And still these 
argosies are being put to sea nearly every day ! 

But it cannot be denied that reasonably sure returns are always forth- 
coming from the conduct of a legitimate business handling fruits and prod- 
uce either in a large or in a small market if proper limitations are 
put on the volume of business to be handled with the capital invested, and 
proper allowances are made for the personal equation, which after all, is 
the most vital influence in the commercial world, as in every other line of 
human endeavor ; and other things being equal, the right man in charge of 
a business is more essential than having a large amount of money in- 
vested. Maybe I am wrong, but I have always been possessed of the idea 
that things have a knack at shaping themselves for the convenience and 
profit of some men. 

I know it is a current opinion in some quarters that as a general rule 
no great amount of money ever has been or ever will be accumulated by 
firms or individuals engaged in the produce business, but I think it only 
necessary to refer en masse to the hundreds of leading firms over the coun- 
try who have built lasting monuments to themselves in the successes they 
have achieved, who began in a small way perhaps, but who, through sheer 
pluck and energy coupled with an honest purpose, have forged steadily 
to the front and have not only made money for themselves, but have ren- 
dered a real service to their countrymen in helping to find markets for 
numerous products that would certainlj'^ have gone to waste year after 
year were it not for the diligent effort on their part in finding a profitable 
outlet for the surplus products of farms, orchards, barnyards, dairies. 



SPECULATION 33 

vineyards and other sources of supply that dot the hillsides and checker 
the landscapes from one end of this good country to the other, and in 
many cases risking their good money to do so. 

I think there is little foundation for the idea that money cannot be 
made out of every branch of the fruit and produce business where proper 
judgment and energy are used, for I am sure there are too many prosper- 
ous and successful growers, shippers and dealers in every community and 
every market center to allow any but the prejudiced to share the opinion 
that a reasonable competence, if not a neat fortune, cannot be honestly ac- 
cumulated if a proper system is worked out and followed, and correct 
methods of trading are adhered to, even with a line that is so highly specu- 
lative as most branches of the produce trade become at some stages and in 
some seasons. 

Of course, I might cite hundreds of examples of really successful peo- 
ple in the trade, despite its speculative tendencies, but I think it unnec- 
essary to single them out, as they are already conspicuous enough before 
the produce public to supi3ort the argument I make, viz. : that the great 
produce field offers as many if not more opi^ortunities for success to the 
individual or firm with a small capital tlian can be found in the average 
commercial line today where it frequently requires an enormous outlay of 
money and infinite pains to secure a comparatively small profit on a sea- 
son's business. 

But if I were asked to point out the most dangerous pitfall for produce 
people I would unhesitatingly say that the fever of speculation is the 
cause of more downfalls, and puts more people in hot water temporarih'^ 
and sometimes indefinitely, than all other causes combined. Yet specu- 
lation is often perfectly legitimate and is sometimes necessary if a cam- 
paign of trading is to be successful. The main trouble with this element 
is that it is too frequently allowed to run riot and entirely supplant candid 
judgment in deciding what is best to do. It must be admitted that there 
is difficulty in drawing a clear idea as to what constitutes business and 
what is purely speculation, especially when we are considering a line that 
is so largely speculative from start to finish. 

But he that is so foolish as to tamper with the speculative microbe too 
much and inoculates his system thoroughly, without possessing a knack 
for the task, is sooner or later blinded and burned just as the moth, lured 
by the glare of the candle, is coaxed to its ruin. But not all speculation is 
ruinous as we have observed, nor are all of its votaries rewarded with 
ignominious failure. 

There are types of speculation as well as types of speculators. 

First, everybody may be considered a speculator to some extent when 



34 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

he is engaged in a line of business that is in itself more or less a game of 
chance. Then there is the intermittent speculator who drops in and out as 
circumstances and his judgment may dictate. He is usually calm and 
calculating, and he is the only real speculator worth considering. He 
generally wants to play a sure thing and will take the right chance ap- 
parently at heavy odds against him. Like all gamblers, he reduces the 
element of chance to a minimum, and when he sees he has a 100 to 1 shot 
he prefers to go fishing, or spend awhile looking oyer the beauties of 
nature and let his money rest. In other words, he has a set of brains and 
he uses his thinking apparatus day in and day out. He knows the value 
of correct information and will not act without ascertaining his bearings ; 
he is willing to pay for a "look-in," and he is slow to hand out tips, pre- 
ferring to use them himself. What is more important still, the real specu- 
lator will not attempt the impossible. When he finds he is in wrong he 
gets out with as little loss or damage as possible, for even the best specu- 
lators get fooled now and tlien, and it sometimes happens they are fooled 
the worst on what seems a sure thing. The very uncertainty of the prod- 
uce business might be termed its chief characteristic. 

But the sensible, thinking speculator in produce lines who leaves no 
stone unturned to know every phase of his deal, is a hard man to beat at 
his own game. He thinks hard before he acts, and if he sees a big doubt 
he is slow to act at all. 

The speculator who makes most trouble for himself and others is the 
malignant type that may be classed as a dyed-in-the-wool gambler who 
has it in his blood and in his bones to gamble, and who will lay you 1 to 2 
that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow. 

I regret to say some men who class themselves in the produce trade are 
often guilty of entering deals about as impossible as the "sun rise" bet. 
It is difficult to say if sheer ignorance or a chronic gambling spirit is most 
largely responsible for the hazardous deals we occasionally run across in 
the business. Certainly it is a lack of gray matter whichever may be the 
cause. 

The grower or shipper that hooks up with a broker or dealer that is 
notorious for questionable operations may do so from ignorance, but it 
can hardly be denied that the aforesaid grower or shipper is gambling that 
he will not get skinned. It is very easy to see the element of speculation 
could be lessened in such cases if pro]>cr efforts were made to find out the 
reliability of the tricky broker or dealer before putting up the stake, which 
is more or less a contribution to the general educational fund. 

Again, the tin horn produce gambler who figures he and his clique con- 
stitute a controlling interest ii? the market, aud who sinks all the money 



p™*^ 




SPECULATION S5 

he can beg, borrow or steal in a deal to bolster up a lost cause, abandoned 
by all sane folks, is no doubt lured by the goddess of chance to the point 
where his judgment is inert or lost entirely. Surely, it requires no ex- 
tended argument to show that the chronic speculator, acting more on im- 
pulse than reason, is a dangerous man to follow and a real nuisance to the 
entire trade. 

It is true that a good size volume. could be written on the evils and the 
benefits of speculation in the different phases of the produce trade. 

Too often speculation is diametrically opposed to legitimate business. 
Again, business often loses its charm and its profits if all speculation is 
barred out. But it ma}'^ be put down as a fact that speculation usually 
looks for a reward without giving a value received in service. In other 
words, it is a device to obtain easy money. It seeks to take advantage of 
circumstances or conditions, and demands a fee for its mastery of a situa- 
tion which it is supposed to have anticipated. 

Contrasted with real business, speculation exhibits some phenomenal 
traits. Business is slow, plodding, aiming at an aggregate piled up from 
a series of small profits ; speculation is lithe, agile, and is constantly try- 
ing for a bold stroke by which to make a big killing. Business aims at a 
touch down by masses on tackle and center rushes, while speculation seeks 
to make gains by long end runs and is fond of trying to kick goals from 
the forty-yard line. Speculation is akin to poetry, business is more like 
prose; the former is spring time, the latter is autumn. The one is the 
rainbow, the other the shower. And so they stalk hand in hand, — the twin 
brothers of destiny in all the affairs in the produce realm. 

Perhaps all speculation is legitimate when the element of chance lias 
been reduced to a minimum. But who can say when speculation ceases 
to be more than a doubt.'' No one can be absolutely sure until the time is 
up. What generally would be called a speculative deal may be in fact 
only an investment with an almost assured handsome profit within a rea- 
sonable time. There are occasions when celery, apples, butter or poultry 
are preferable as an investment to U. S. government bonds so far as 
profits are concerned. 

Largely the wisdom or folly of speculation lies in being reasonably 
sure of the ground before you. To the extent that human judgment and 
foresight have their limitations, just to that extent has speculation its 
short comings. Speculation can never be perfect for it must always rest 
on more or less imperfect and doubtful data. 

But some men are gifted with better reason and a more penetrating eye 
into conditions than others and they are, therefore, better speculators. 
But be it said to the credit of the wiser heads in the produce game. 



36 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

they generally prefer to fight shy of speculating except as they are forced 
into it by the arbitrary standards, customs and seasons that must be met 
and reckoned with. 

And so the secret of success in speculating in the produce market de- 
pends on intelligence. In other words, success is the premium put on cor- 
rect information and exjaert knowledge. This appears to be in line with 
the general order of affairs throughout the universe, and there is no man 
or set of men who can cut intelligence out of its ultimate reward. 

I shall not attempt to disprove that the man who gives up his time to 
the study of some j^articular commodity, and who accumulates valuable 
data and information relating to the production and distribution of certain 
kinds of produce, and who afterwards stakes his money on a risk should 
not be entitled to whatever remuneration he can get. 

I am afraid there are some who make faces at sjjeculators because of 
their superior wits. To make a long story short the successful speculator 
is thoroughly abreast of the times. It takes the best set of brains to make 
good at his game, and there must be no mental kinks in his plans and no 
corrosion allowed in his thinking machine. 

The question has been asked again and again if speculators are not 
merely the camp followers of the great produce army. Some are so rash 
as to claim that speculators are barnacles instead of benefactors. It 
must be admitted that sometimes a speculator is gambling on money be- 
longing to someone else. Many brokers throughout the country are fond 
of this very pastime. Orders are often booked for car lot shipments when 
the broker has no instructions to buy or sell. It easily can be seen the 
broker figures that prices will go higher or lower, and he can settle at 
a profit instead of taking his brokerage and handing over the purchase to 
his fictitious client, or vice versa. 

But if the market should go up or down in the wrong way, or if his 
client, unaware that the broker has placed an order for him, lays in a 
stock of the same goods from some other source, if he has been in the 
market, and the broker fails to make good his delivery there is usually 
the devil to pay. It is needless to emphasize that this practice should 
be frowned down and bitterly opposed by the trade at large, for just such 
business has been responsible for losses of friendships and money galore. 
I have no purpose to make any insinuations against brokers as a whole, 
for I have already pointed out that a good broker is a blessing in many 
cases, and I deem it his function in the scheme of handling produce is a 
legitimate one so long as he confines himself to legitimate trading within 
legitimate lines. But above everything he should not be a speculator, and 
if he must speculate he should speculate on his own money and his own 



SPECULATION 37 

reputation, and not presume to make a cat's-paw of other people, too often 
without their knowledge or consent. 

In conclusion, I want to say that a very large percentage of the dan- 
gerous speculation connected with handling fruits and produce can be reg- 
ulated within safe bounds and often entirely eliminated by the trade at 
large if proper steps are taken in time. 

The man or the firm who knows the ground thoroughly and who works 
in the light of past experience is justified in taking risks that may be dan- 
gerous guess work for the inexperienced operator with a limited capital 
and trade. Exact knowledge is the best preventive of dangerous 
■ speculation. 

In truth, speculation itself ceases to be speculative when the crucial test 
of common sense is rigidly applied and the element of chance is reduced 
to a minimum or eliminated so far as possible. Although there may be 
losses now and then to be charged against the seasoned speculator in 
produce lines which he knows from beginning to end, the sum total of his 
operations may be expected to overbalance by far the minor losses result- 
ing from his taking advantages of promising opportunities now and then. 

As folly leads to its own destruction, so does wild speculation work 
out its own ruin. Those who get the fever too strong and who fail to dis- 
cover the error of their way in time will sooner or later be wiped off the 
map and sink into utter oblivion. 

So long as speculation is mere guess work it is to be deprecated. When 
it is based on experience, or if a course of careful reasoning and obser- 
vation has preceded the determination to buy, it may be only a good in- 
vestment that will become a touchstone and turn things into gold. 



CHAPTER V 



INFORMATION 



It is not amiss even at this early stage of our survey of the produce 
business to devote a chapter to the right important subject of informa- 
tion. But I hope I may be pardoned on account of the possible charge of 
posing as an oracle that knows all even about the kinds of information 
necessary for the peaceful and profitable conduct of the business we are 
considering, though I have spent several years of study on some phases of 
this subject, and I think my observations have not been wholly in vain. 

The old lady who is credited by tradition with the always ready re- 
mark that "If our foresights were only as good as our hind sights folks 
would be saved lots of trouble" no doubt expressed more philosophy than 
can be readily understood. Her criticism of the shortcoming of human 
wisdom is especially applicable to produce affairs. 

In this line of commercial endeavor we have under investigation a 
premium is always put on the judgment that can penetrate the future 
and know when it is best to buy or sell, when best to grow, ship or store, 
or even to give away an article, for there are "white elephants" in the 
produce business. Wlioever can foresee what is best to do in a majority 
of cases is perhaps a direct descendant of Solomon. 

To know what to do and how to do it is, therefore, a prime requisite 
to the successful operation of any phase of the business. It takes some 
severe jolts to teach some people simple lessons, and now and then you 
will find a man who has grown gray-headed in the business who has been 
tripping and falling over the same old stumbling block every time he 
comes across it. Such people wonder why they never seem to get ahead, 
yet they fail to take the pains to look, to think. They are sadly in need 
o'f reliable information in a majority of cases, I believe. 

Again, there are a few men, only a few, in the business who possess a 
genius for doing the right thing at the right time, and many people are 
pleased to call them lucky because of their frequent and sometimes bril- 
liant coups. Usrually they are men who weigh carefully and assimilate 
all available information. 

3S 



INFORMATION 39 

Things rarely happen ; they usnally shape themselves after a plan. 
It is the man with a plan that turns the world upside down before break- 
fast. By this I mean the man who does things, or in curbstone vernacular 
who "gets there." Such men may be quick to decide and generally apt 
in deciding right, yet you overestimate when j^ou credit them with a 
mental equipment too far above the ordinary. The men who have made 
most startling successes in produce affairs are usually only ordinary 
mortals, but most of them have very extraordinary methods for thought 
and action. It often happens that an important deal involving consider- 
able money and profits can be transacted in a few minutes by an em- 
ploye, but which required an hour or two or perhaps a day or two for the 
boss to plan and get in shape for closing, and so mapped out that it had 
to go right. 

I cannot emphasize too much the importance of careful thinking out of 
every detail whenever possible, although details must give way to general 
plans. If it is possible, information both general and detailed, should be 
procured and studied by dealers, shippers and everybody in the trade. 
An intelligent selection is necessary, of course, in most cases for dif- 
ferent lines, but it is safe to say that no piece of real information of im- 
portance is not worth while to well nigh everyone in the trade. The 
grower of early potatoes in the southwest should keep well informed as 
to the visible supply of old potatoes in the northern territory for late use 
when the new crop will come on the market. Forsooth, he should know 
approximately before he even plants his early crop. The lemon grower 
in California should be abreast of conditions in the rest of the lemon 
growing sections of the world, and he should know just as nearly as 
possible what the next Sicily crop will be. The illustration might be 
continued indefinitely, but I am sure everyone will easily see the point 
I am driving at, namely, know all about your line you can. 

No one individual or even an organization of individuals that has ever 
been formed so far can dig out and classify a line of information rela- 
tive to any particular commodity that will be an absolutely certain guide 
on which to do business. But there is no doubt that carefully collected 
and correctly classified information is the nearest to an infallible guide 
so far as a guide can be constructed for the direction of this business into 
which so many variable factors enter, and in which so many aggravat- 
ing circumstances constantly arise. But the mariner's compass can 
hardly be blamed for a shipwreck due to a sudden storm, as the compass 
is only designed to point north and south, and it may have done its own 
work admirably but at the same time furnished poor marine insurance. 

Information, in its varied forms, comes of course either in printed or 



40 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

verbal reports, or from such evidences as the observer may be able to 
scan in his own horizon with his own eye. But we shall see later on that 
the average observer who depends upon his own limited range of vision 
is no better off so far as correct information is concerned than if he were 
blind. Local conditions in any given section may be worthless, considered 
alone, so far as the general situation over the country is concerned. 
However, conditions in one locality may have a considerable bearing 
on conditions throughout the country, provided they are taken collectively 
and viewed intelligently. 

Let me illustrate: For some reason the pear crop in Blank county. New 
York, may be short fifty per cent compared with the normal crop. With- 
out taking into consideration the yield out of about all other important 
pear bearing districts it would be unwise to conclude that the pear crop 
all over the country is short because it is short in Blank county. Every 
day the trade is realizing more and more that the country must be viewed 
as a whole, and it is with the aim of getting a broad view of conditions 
that we are mostly concerned when we considei^ at least a majority of 
commodities embraced in produce lines. 

If I knew an absolutely sure method of obtaining accurate informa- 
tion that could be relied upon implicity I would hardly be disposed to print 
it in this book in exchange for a small sum when I could have the 
system patented and sell it to different people for thousands of dollars. 

There is no hard and fast set of rules that can be applied indiscrim- 
inately to all lines and which will secure the desired results in obtaining 
information. The reports on different crops and produce commodities 
issued from time to time by the general government, and also by the 
various state governments, are supposed to be collected from reliable 
sources and to be intelligently classified, yet there is hardly a reasonable 
doubt that many of these documents and reports are often more worthless 
for business purposes than the blank paper on which they are printed. 
Not only do they often possess no value in throwing light on exact con- 
ditions, but they frequently have an evil influence in creating wrong sen- 
timents and adversely affecting the markets. In this connection I think 
it only worth while to cite the manner in which figures published an- 
nually relating to cotton have been juggled with for years by crooked 
statisticians for the benefit of even more crooked gamblers throughout the 
country who had been playing try-ball with this staple commodity from 
time immemorial. The same erroneous dope has also been issued, either 
by accident or design, relating to other crops of the country as sub- 
sequent conditions have shown in some cases. But I cannot forbear to 
mention in this connection that there is apparently a noticeable improve- 



INFORMATION 41 

ment in iiio.st of these government bulletins, and it is to be hoped that a 
general housecleaning and brushing up will take place eventually which 
will rid the different departments not only of their employees and at- 
taches who on occasions have given such poor service, but also of every 
phase of suspicion or carelessness in making up these documents. A 
report relative to growing crops or the visible supply of any produce 
commodity in the country which is undertaken by the general or any state 
government should be a model of accuracy, completeness and neatness 
and this high standard should be maintained at all hazards. Of course, 
the general purpose of the government reports, both state and national, 
cannot be questioned, for thej^ are intended to be of value to the public. 

Aside from being accurate, information must be complete if it is worth 
while, and for these reasons it is plain tc see that it costs money. Skilled 
talent must direct its collection and compilation, and owing to the wide 
latitude that must be covered in anything like a general report, it is easy 
enough to see that the undertaking is no small task when a commodity 
is grown or produced over a considerable area in different sections. 

Another thing which is essential for information is that it shall be 
recent and down-to-date if it is to be taken into account as a market in- 
fluence. Statistical reports for a decade may be valuable for comparative 
purposes but well nigh worthless so far as the coming crop about which 
they relate may be concerned. For this very reason I am led to believe 
that a great deal of money spent by our federal government has been 
wasted in publishing dignified, gigantic volumes that are out of date for 
all practical purposes sometimes before they are off the press. But I pre- 
sume the libraries over the country have to be filled with something, and 
for this and other causes the less said about them the better, and maybe 
I should drop this feature of the subject here. 

The various newspapers and publications devoted to different lines 
of the trade are valuable assets in keeping abreast of what is going on, 
but it is necessary that even these papers be scrutinized carefully and 
watched all the time, for it occasionally happens some of the most asinine 
dope imaginable is served through their columns. A few of the papers 
specialize, however, and as a general thing they are nearer the truth than 
such papers as are concerned with produce matters only as a secondary 
issue. Too often these newspaper reports are taken at second hand oi 
even third hand. 

Individual firms or associations should make it a special point to have 
a system of their own, designed for their special requirements, and to 
cover such territory as may be necessary in procuring the vital data so 
necessary for their purposes. 



42 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

An inquiry blank containing a half dozen or more questions covering 
a certain commodity can be run off on a mimeograph or otherwise printed 
in short order, and can be mailed with a two cent stamp to different people 
with a request that they answer the questions relative to conditions about 
a given crop or market in their locality. 

It is usually best to enclose a stamped envelope for reply, and in this 
way the cost of each report does not amount to more than a few cents. 
By using this system a wide territory can be covered at a nominal cost, 
and as a general thing the writer finds this an excellent system for ob- 
taining prompt information and the kind which is usually most depend- 
able. It is surprising how swiftly these reports can be handled when 
promptness is requested of the addressee. It hardly requires a week to 
hear from all sections of the country. Of course, where special swift- 
ness is desired it is best to use the telegraph or the telephone. Although 
the cost comes higher, still it is frequently a good investment to spend 
twenty-five dollars to be correctly informed for one day's business. 

But it is necessary if information is to be valuable it must be correct, 
and correctness is not always possible if collected in too great a rush. 
However, most crop reports are only estimates and are only designed 
to be approximately accurate. For all practical purposes these estimates, 
if secured from reliable sources, are as good as exact figures to afford a 
basis for trading. If a complete series of reports are secured, for exam- 
ple, from a considerable number of reliable potato growers and shippers 
in the leading potato growing sections, and these reports show conclu- 
sively that the acreage has been increased compared with last year, also 
that favorable weather has prevailed for potato growing and that no 
damage more than the average has resulted from bugs, blight or rot, then 
it is fairly safe to expect a good yield of potatoes. But the yield of a given 
crop is not an absolutely sure index as to what that crop will sell for, as 
there are many factors that enter into making prices besides the yield, 
which we have already observed and will see more clearly later on. 

To get correct information it is essential that it come from reliable 
sources. Many growers and shippers are absolutely unable to give an 
accurate idea of a crop or a commodity in which they may be interested. 
The reason for this is not far to seek, as it is only human nature to be 
biased by one's interests. But it is becoming more and more evident that 
it is bad policy to try to mislead the trade about what a crop yield will 
be, or how much of a given produce commodity may be available, as these 
distorted reports sooner or later act as a kind of boomerang that comes 
back and makes trouble. 

For instance, it is bad business for the growers themselves to scatter 



INFORMATION 43 

broadcast a report that the apple crop is short if such is not really the 
case, for when the time comes for putting this crop on the market the 
truth is found out ; buyers become nervous and refuse to pay prices asked 
by the growers for fear the real truth about the visible supply of apples 
has not been discovered, and that they will be buying trouble as well as 
apples by paying prices asked. 

As a general thing, however, it does not take long for the real truth 
about fruits and vegetables and other produce to be found out, or for 
the trained people in the trade to learn what is doing in a score of mar- 
kets and in a hundred growing sections. No line of business is more in- 
timately related than the produce trade, although the complexities of the 
business and the petty jealousies that have sprung up among some, often 
conspire to defeat the good ends that might be attained in the trade if 
sensible co-operation were more universal than now is the case. 

We have observed in another chapter the importance of the trade keep- 
ing abreast of the times, and the pleasure that attends systematic 
study, but I want to note here the great value accruing from thorough 
?tudy and from being well informed. For the small outlay involved in ob- 
taining suitable literature these days information is within the reach of 
all. And it does not take more time than can be afforded to read up on 
conditions. Then a reasonable amount of correspondence among grow- 
ers, associations or dealers may be undertaken if an exchange of views is 
desired. 

To that class of the trade engaged in buying and selling fruits and 
produce it will hardly seem worth while to offer any suggestions in refer- 
ence to the necessity of being informed, and I should refrain from tak- 
ing up any time with the dealers were it not that I have seen so many 
cases where the absence of important correct information has caused 
losses of money as well as losses of friendships, and where opportunities 
to make money have not been taken advantage of by a firm or individual 
that lacked the information, but which was seized upon and made to yield 
profits and pleasure to others who had been wide enough awake to get 
the information necessary to the proper and prompt handling of trades 
that fell their way. 

Information is the very bed rock on which business must be transacted, 
and it is equally necessary for the legitimate dealer and for the success- 
ful speculator. Indeed, it is doubtful if the speculator really speculates 
if he has not the correct information on which to base his judgment as 
to when to buy and when to sell, and what difference, if any, exists be- 
tween price and value as applied to a given commodity. 

A great many people who are well informed cannot give an offhand 



44 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

idea about how they obtained their information, for in many cases infor- 
mation has to be absorbed from a hundred different sources and assimi- 
lated through a hundred different processes. Of course, this figure of 
speech will not be construed literally, but what I am driving at is to 
establish the fact that information cannot be pulled out as a cork is from 
a bottle with a cork screw, nor can it be swept up with a broom, nor can 
it be bought oftentimes for pure gold. 

Information comes on every current during the day and it often dies at 
sunset; it is sometimes old before the dew has dried on it in the morn- 
ing; sometimes it happens to be disguised by an outer coating and woe 
unto the heavy operator who gets a wrong tip or who fails to interpret a 
piece of gospel dope. 

The firm or individual who attempts to buy and sell, and who is not cor- 
rectly informed will meet troubles of various kinds which might be 
avoided if some energy were put into collecting and assimilating the right 
kind of information. To succeed in any branch of the produce business 
it means that one must have and keep down-to-date and up-to-date 
information. 

It is true that some judgment and skill must be employed to select just 
what information is essential and what is not. All information relating 
to the business is good for those engaged in the business, although all of 
it may not be absolutely necessary. The man who raises poultry ex- 
clusively may have failed to see where he might become vitally interested 
in legislation effecting cold storages, and as a general proposition there 
could hardly be expected to be more than a common sympathy between 
those interested in the raising of poultry and people engaged in con- 
ducting a storage business. But it recently became necessary that the 
cold storages, whose business was jeopardized by the proposing of un- 
wise and dangerous legislation, to appeal to the commercial poultry 
raiser, who is also in the trade, for his influence in defeating such legisla- 
tion as threatened seriously to affect if not actually ruin the business of 
one or both. This applies to case after case involving different business 
interests in the trade and which every well informed man knows to be true. 

New conditions are constantly arising and new problems are present- 
ing themselves before the trade for solution ; new opportunities are open- 
ing constantly, new fortunes, new enterprises, new people and hundreds 
of other things are coming up all the time, and sometimes the very thing 
you want to know about and should know about escapes your attention 
through your own fault in not trying to find out about it. 

Obviously the moral of this chapter is to get all the information you 
can and use it the best vou know how. 



p 



CHAPTER VI 



TRANSPORTATION 



Owing to the fact that fruits and produce are generally shipped some 
considerable distance from the localities where they are grown or pro- 
duced to the places where they are handled and consumed in the larger 
market centers, and owing to the perishable nature of such articles it is 
quite evident that the item of transportation is one highly important as 
it relates to and affects the various branches of the trade. 

In the limited space at my disposal in this volume I can only hope to 
refer briefly to some of the important phases of transportation matters 
which I consider to be of vital interest to growers, shippers and dealers 
everywhere. And in this connection I may say that some remarks which 
may be made while treating on this subject might be construed as being 
of entirely too radical a character. But at the same time I want it clearly 
understood that whatever I may say on this subject springs from genu- 
ine convictions which have come from observing the general methods of 
transportation in this country, and also the very serious and damaging 
effects to the general public from what I conceive to be gross transporta- 
tion abuses. At the same time I trust that those who read this volume 
may be fair enough to give me credit for suggesting only such remedies 
as appear to me to be rational and expedient. 

Taking the matter of transportation by and large, it no doubt possesses 
many commendable features, but withal some faults which must be consid- 
ered seriously, however we may look at the subject. ' No doubt, as time 
goes on we shall get nearer the millennium, and there will be many im- 
provements in all branches of transportation which will make the present 
system look more like child's play than it now does to a candid observer 
who may be given credit for investigating such matters carefully and 
impartially, and not forming conclusions too quickly. 

At the outset I want to be fair enough to say that I really feel the 
shipping public has invited a number of the transportation abuses with 

45 



46 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

which we arc cursed, and with which we are contending in a greater 
or lesser degree. For example, the car shortages and consequent conges- 
tion of traffic frequently resulting therefrom have been induced in a large 
measure by consignees in various markets who too frequently make it a 
practice to leave loaded cars on track at destination an undue length of 
time, preferring to pay demurrage charges instead of providing the neces- 
sary warehouse facilities to take care of shipments. Yet this practice 
alone cannot be charged with being the sole cause of the car shortages that 
develop from time to time. 

Now and then complaint is heard among the railroad men that cars of 
potatoes, etc., are left on track at destination as long as 30 days, and 
there are lots of cases where other kinds of produce are kept for an un- 
due period in cars which should be used for moving other traffic. Some 
of the more intelligent traffic men in the produce trade say that it would 
be a blessing if car service rules were revised, and instead of charging a 
demurrage of $1 a day if cars are not unloaded within 48 hours after 
arrival at destination, that the fee should be made $10 a day for every 
day longer than the first 48 hours. While this rule would seem to be 
rather extreme, there can be no doubt that it would facilitate the move- 
ment of traffic wonderfully and would do away largely with a certain 
element in the trade in the larger markets who have no place of busi- 
ness but "down on the tracks," and whose business, — assets, bank ac- 
counts and all, — is carried under their hats. 

But on the other hand, I believe the railroads should be made to stand 
losses incurred by failure to provide suitable equipment to move traffic 
when it is offered and is ready to move, whatever car service rules might 
be in effect. I am sure there are wholesome arguments in favor of the so 
called reciprocal demurrage, and it is a pity that some such system could 
not have been put into effect long ago. 

The subject of claims against transportation companies affords ample 
material for a good size volume. The money tied up in claims for over- 
charges in freight bills and in loss in damage claims which belongs to 
the produce trade in the United States would be equivalent to all the 
money in some of our largest banks. 

Thousands of these claims are perfectly legitimate and can hardly 
be disputed, but the claim departments apparently must have something 
to toy with and to use their form letters on so as to keep the rust off their 
typewriters. The way in which the average claim department operates 
would certainly justify the supposition that it is designed rather to pre- 
vent than to facilitate the adjustment of claims. 

The cardinal sin that most claim officials will have to answer for, I be- 



TRANSPORTATION 47 

lieve, is that of their nerve-racking slowness. If someone could inject a 
good dose of "make haste" into the average claim department it would re- 
lieve the shipping public of lots of profanity, induced from suspense day 
after day, and sometimes year after year before action is obtained and 
final report is made on certain important claims. In urging the payment 
of railroad claims promptly after reasonable investigation does not neces- 
sarily imply that the railroads would give up more money than they are 
now paying for claims, but they would not have the indefinite use of 
money that does not belong to them. 

Some provision should be made in our laws regulating transportation, 
whereby a common carrier should be given a stated time to investigate a 
claim and report on it definitely, and if they fail to comply, judgment 
should thereupon issue against the common carrier and the claimant be 
allowed to realize on same forthwith. This would be only a reversal of 
the present system which is practiced by tTie common carriers themselves. 

Because there seems to be a lack of care shown among dealers espe- 
cially in smaller markets in the matter of handling claims I feel that a 
few suggestions from some practical traffic men may not come amiss. 

In order to get a claim paid it should be properly made out and filed 
in the right way. No doubt lots of time and money would be saved if a 
few details were observed. 

In presenting overcharge claims, for example, it is frequently the case 
that no reference whatever is given to any tariff as authority for the 
rate claimed, and in some cases no reason whatever is given for the claim, 
except that the party making it thinks that the rate charged is too high. 
Such claims are not entitled to serious consideration, of course. 

In the case of loss or damage claims sufficient care is not exercised in 
many cases to have proper exceptions taken at the time of delivery of a 
shipment and when claim is presented, investigation shows that clear 
receipt was given, and, of course, claims then must be declined until proof 
of liability is shown, which frequently causes an undue loss of time. 

The fact that the rules of the railroad companies require a receipt to 
be signed before the property is seen does not at all prevent the proper 
exceptions being taken when a shipment is found to be short or dam- 
aged. In such cases draymen should insist upon the shortage or bad 
order notation being made upon his receipt before taking the property 
out of the possession of the railroad company. Should agents refuse to 
allow such notation then the facts should at once be reported to tlie con- 
signee, who should notify the agent, in writing (not by telephone) of the 
particulars of damage and that shipment is on hand for his inspection. 

Quite a good deal of the delay- in settlement of damage claims will be 



48 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

obviated by having a good clear record made at the time damaged goods 
are received, and the facts clearly set forth in claim when presented. 
Generally freight claim agents stand ready to co-operate in having proper 
record made in all cases of damage at the time delivery is made. 

It is the best plan for those shipping and receiving produce of all 
kinds to keep a permanent record of all data relative to shipments going 
out or coming in. 

For all dealers or receivers the following information should be kept, 
especially in handling car lots : The exact date and time car reported ar- 
rived by the railroad ; where, date and time of day car inspected ; tem- 
perature inside and outside of car; amount of ice in bunkers, "plugs" in 
or out, or how ventilated ; appearance and condition of commodity ; date 
and on whom connected with railroad or express company was notice 
of claim served ; date and whom of the railroad or express company was 
requested to examine ; where and when, and by whom examined for rail- 
road or express company. 

Claims for overcharge in rate, classification or weight should be sup- 
ported by: 

First — Original paid freight bill. But when original paid freight bill 
cannot be produced, claimant should indemnify carrier against loss for 
payment of claim supported by original document. 

Second — Original invoice or certified copy of same where claim is 
based on wrong classification. 

Third — Sworn certificate of weight when claim is based upon an over- 
charge in weight. 

Fourth — Original bill of lading, if not previously surrendered to the 
carrier or certified copy of same. But the original bill of lading is not 
an essential part of an overcharge claim and its absence should not in any 
way invalidate claim. 

Fifth — When claim is for overcharge in rate, tariff reference should 
be given for rate or classification claimed whenever it can be obtained 
by claimant, as this greatly simplifies adjustment. 

Sixth — Statement showing how overcharge is determined. 

Claims for loss and damage should be supported by the following 
documents : 

First — Original bill of lading if same has not been surrendered to 
carrier. 

Second— Tlie original paid freight bill. 

Third — Original invoice or properly certified copy of same. 

Fourth — Formal bill from claimant setting forth in detail amount of 
loss or damage and how same is arrived at. 



TRANSPORTATION 49 

Fifth — Where original bill of lading or original paid freight bill can- 
not be produced, claimant should indemnify carrier against loss for pay- 
ment of claim supported by original document. 

In handling claims for concealed loss and damage it is desirable to 
furnish in addition to the foregoing — 

First — Affidavit from the shipper that property as called for by the in- 
voice was properly and carefully packed and in condition to withstand 
all ordinary risks of transportation, and was delivered to the railroad 
in good condition. 

Second — Affidavit from drayman at destination setting forth that the 
package or joackages were handled with proper care from the railroad 
station to consignee's store or warehouse and met with no accident which 
could cause loss or damage, and 

Third — Affidavit from party who unpacked the shipments, setting forth 
the exact condition of same wlien unpacked. 

In all cases where there is a shortage or damage it is a good plan to 
observe the following: 

(a) Shortages discovered at time of delivery should be endorsed on 
the paid freight bill. 

(b) Damages discovered at time of delivery should be endorsed upon 
the paid freight bill, such notation to state the exact extent and nature of 
damage. 

Some people in the trade declare they find it a good plan in filing 
claims to advise the railroad or express company against whom claim 
is made that if the claim is not given attention and reported on within 60 
or 90 days it will be placed in the hands of an attorney with instructions 
to bring suit. 

And while this policy may seem a bit strenuous it is no doubt justified 
from the experience some people have had, and in the matter of over- 
charges it would probably be as well to put the limit at 30 days or less. 

There can be no doubt that too much of the trade's money is tied up 
in claims, and that too much time is wasted in collecting money that 
ought to be paid promptly. 

Minimum carload weights are a source of much distress in handling 
certain commodities. No general rule can be set down for the regulation 
of this proposition, but everyone knows that there is a safe limit for the 
loading of perishables, and when this limit is exceeded losses are certain 
from heating and crowding. Shippers who are too economical, and want 
to effect a saving in freight by overloading, invite trouble on this score. 
The limit should be set at a reasonable figure and rigidly observed. But 
it never should be unreasonable. Those who are not versed in moving 



50 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

perishables should always get the advice of an experienced person who 
knows how many packages or how much weight can be safely loaded into 
a car for different distances under different temperatures, and should 
be governed accordingly. 

It would be an excellent plan if a uniform system were devised to 
allow destination weights to govern in assessing freight charges, at least, 
on a majority of perishable commodities in the fruit and produce cata- 
log. The shrinkage in the weight of a car of vegetables is usually a con- 
siderable item, and where goods are being sold by weight it is a great 
hardship to require the receiver to stand all the loss. To be nearer exact, 
the difference b£tween the actual weight at initial point and actual desti- 
nation weight might justly be divided by two, and freight charges col- 
fected on half the loss of shrinkage in transit. But if there is loss from 
shrinkage through delay or improper handling, of course, the better plan 
is to make claim for loss or damage. Many people in the trade have had 
no end of trouble on this matter of shrinkage in transit. The present 
S3'^stem of handling these items is far from being right. 

Nowadays it is absolutely essential that every produce dealer make 
as thorough study as possible of transportation, and if his business is 
sufficiently large, that he employ a trained traffic manager. The fact that 
railroads and other transportation lines are not now bound to protect any 
rate except that in their published tariff, and that whoever makes a slip 
on a lower rate, although in error, on the presumption that he has au- 
thority for the lower charge than the published rate, puts himself in a 
bad way, and there have been not a few of the larger operators in the 
produce business during the last few years that have been forced to burn 
quite a little gray matter and not a small amount of money in settling for 
freight charges that they thought had been paid and forgotten. 

Reverting to the subject of car shortages and the inabilities of trans- 
portation lines to move traffic given them, I want to say that there are 
some instances where numerous dealers and shipping organizations have 
been forced to take losses which assume proportions that ought to make a 
man think and think hard what the railroads were built for. 

It is, indeed, a serious matter where produce people have shipments 
that ought to be moved, and who may be getting telegrams, telephone 
messages and letters every hour placing orders for immediate or prompt 
shipment, and whose salvation may depend upon reasonably quick action, 
and who are in many cases left stranded high and dry, to see their 
prospective profits dwindle and disappear because the goods they have 
to offer and which are valuable, are deteriorating for being held, and 
because the markets of the country will not wait on the slow service or 
no service of the railroads. 



TRANSPORTATION 51 

I submit they have a complaint to make against the transportation in- 
terests which should be thundered from the housetops and emblazoned 
upon the sky. I am opposed to yielding to any such puerile arguments 
from the railroads as, "We are doing the best we can to take care of the 
traffic," or "the business is growing so fast we are unable to keep up 
with it." 

Such disgusting stuff as this only stimulates a feeling becoming more 
and more wide-spread in this country that if the railroads themselves, 
to whom the public has made many concessions, cannot or will not handle 
properly the business they are supposed to conduct, then in the interest 
of the public someone else should undertake to see that the business is 
properly conducted. 

I think everybody of ordinary intelligence must agree that it is en- 
tirely feasible and highly necessary that the transportation corporations 
be forced to do their duty to the country which has done so much for them 
in the past. It is really amusing to hear some of the higher railroad 
officials talking now and then about how much the country owes the rail- 
roads for their great work in the country's development. If ever the 
cart was put before the horse here is the original example. 

Surely the man is crazy who sincerely believes that the transportation 
lines of this country are conducted from an eleemosynary standpoint. I 
think the firm conviction is widespread that when the transportation 
magnates give away one dollar they expect two or more in return. They 
have apparently operated on a narrow, selfish and penurious plan so far 
as their general attitude towards the public at large is concerned. 
Haunted by the constant fear of increased operating expenses and drained 
of their revenues because of the infernal watered stock representing 
fictitious values and securities, robbing net earnings to pay dividends 
upon them, the transportation people have been slow to provide even such 
equipment as is necessary and essential to protect human life among 
their own employes or among the passengers they haul for a price. 

And while I have got the thought in mind I want to say that it has 
become far too common to see a big headline in the papers telling about 
numbers of people being killed in railroad wrecks, and which notices 
apparently cause little more than passing attention. Why.'' Is it because 
the American people have become so stolid as to be unmoved when their 
fellows are being murdered in this fashion? Will they submit tamely to 
being robbed and then maimed, sons of men who revolted from the 
tyranny of George the Third, who carved an empire out of a wilderness 
and who have wrought the greatest civilization yet recorded in the annals 
of history ? Will they submit to such treatment, I ask, without a protest 
that will become a revolution itself if necessary to provide a remedy.'' 



52 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

I am talking soberly, and I want it plainly luiderstood that I do not 
pose as an erratic refonner. But I desire to emphasize more strongly 
than I can convey by language the fact that I regard the men who are 
responsible for some of the disgraceful conditions in transportation 
affairs of this country as being more despicable than the jjoor unfortunate 
who hurls bombs for revenge, and who trys to wreak vengeance on 
crowned heads. I think no argument is necessary to show that the for- 
mer is in a large measure responsible for the latter. 

Human life and property are valued too.lightly by the carriers anyway ; 
if I have any influence whatever in this volume I trust I may in some 
small measure help to create a sentiment that will overcome this re- 
grettable condition in our country. Perhaps after all is said and done 
the railroads and other transportation lines are as good as we want them 
to be. Let us hope that the time will soon come when the pressure of 
public sentiment will demand improvements which will give us more for 
our money, and enable us to travel and ship in greater safety and more 
expeditiously than at the present time. 

There is one satisfaction in all of the agitation we have had the past 
few years regarding transportation reforms and that is some reform 
has been accomplished, and it should be remembered that reforms never 
work backward. We should make no mistake in looking forward to fur- 
ther improvements, and I hazard my reputation as a prophet on the state- 
ment that the next generation will insist on some big improvements over 
what we have tolerated in the past. 

As a working basis for future improvement I incline to the opinion that 
it will be highly desirable to provide such means as will best impress 
upon the transportation interests that they owe a service to the country, 
and that the service reasonably due must be properly discharged for a 
fair remuneration, and I would strongly object to allowing the trans- 
portation interests to determine solely what this fair remuneration is to 
be. At the same time, I want it clearly understood that I am not one of 
those who would ask or expect the railroads or express companies to work 
at a loss. In other words, I believe that their rates should be equitably 
arranged so that the proceeds arising from their operations should pay 
a reasonable return on the capital invested in the different properties, 
and to allow for the depreciation in those properties. 

The questions of claims, demurrage, minimum weights, refrigeration 
and even the question of speedy transportation itself, are all subsidiary 
to the one question of rates. 

I confess that I hold no brief which will entitle me to pose as an ex- 
pert on the subject of rates, but at the same time I regard it as 



TRANSPORTATION 53 

being impossible for any essential regulation of railroad rates until the 
federal government has put a valuation on the railroad properties them- 
selves, and by this means establish what should be considered a fair re- 
turn on the railroad securities, what legitimate operating expenses should 
be, and what should be allowed for depreciation of the properties. 

Then and not until then will it be possible to take any definite, intel- 
ligent action on the question of rates which have been figured heretofore 
mostly on a basis of what the traffic will bear, and in many cases I 
regret to say, more than the traffic of the produce trade will bear if the 
business is to be profitably continued. 

I think it cannot be successfully denied that the system of rate making 
in the past has been very arbitrary, and in many cases unreasonable and 
unjust to the public at large; if I may be permitted to say it, there 
are some instances which would lead one to suppose that the produce 
trade has fared much worse than some other similar lines of business 
when the matter of rates was being handled. 

The theory that rates should be put as high as the traffic will stand 
may have been the correct view during the days of Huntington, but such 
highway robbery will not square with modern views of service. Whether 
the common carriers will agree or not it remains true that they are under 
some obligations to the people who place traffic in their hands and make 
possible their operation. These obligations should imply something more 
than a license to rob and steal enough from the public to pay several 
times over the actual cost of traffic, to allow for proper maintenance and 
operation and also to provide for the necessary depreciation in property. 

To say the least, rate making heretofore has been a one-sided proposi- 
tion. The transportation lines simply made a safe guess at what the 
rates should be, always figuring in every contingency against losses to 
themselves in the way of claims, for overcharge or loss and damage ; the 
public has simply paid the bills. 

There are scattering instances where competition has had a wholesome 
effect in fixing tariffs, but these cases are rare in comparison with the 
sum total of the thousands and thousands of arbitrary rates that are like 
the sands of the sea. 

What say the moguls higher up? "We must protect the widows and 
orphans who have invested their savings in transportation securities." 

Invested in what? Perhaps one part bona fide security and three or 
four parts bona fide water. 

Wliere did this water come from? 

Who authorized it? 

Is it legitimate? 



54 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Granting for the sake of argument that the widows and orphans have 
invested in securities that are not securities, it seems to me strange logic 
to argue that the great public at large should be called upon to contribute 
a vast sum annually which in the aggregate staggers the imagination, to 
make good the errors of judgment in these widows and orphans who have 
been so unsophisticated as to be lured into the sheep fold to be sheared 
like so many lambs, which they would really be in that case, because 
the stock jobbers are not so afflicted with the blessed fever to take care 
of tlie widows and orphans as to hand over to them any water to quench 
their thirst, and especially the water that might fall out of their "blue 
sky." 

Very true, the water in railway securities does not add anything to the 
earning power of the actual property it is supposed to represent, but tlic 
use of water in stock- jobbing was long ago discovered to be as necessary 
for these purposes as in the every day affairs of life. Of course, the plea 
about widows and orphans has been exploded long ago, and I only refer 
to it here in lighter vein. 

Where water does positive and lasting injury to the growth axid develop- 
ment of the country and to the produce trade is in the matter of fixing 
rates. There are no authentic figures to offset the claims of the trans- 
portation people as to the actual physical valuation of their property, and 
since some valuation must be had as a basis on which to figure rates we 
find we are confronted with the real difficulty when we come to talk intelli- 
gently on the subject, especially when it is necessary to controvert state- 
ments which are given out by financiers and owners of railway properties. 

The Spokane rate case heard by the Interstate Commerce Commission a 
few years ago is a clear case in point. It will be recalled that at tlie 
Chicago hearing where the Spokane rate case was first brought up the 
Great Northern Railway company, owned by James J. Hill and others, 
submitted a physical valuation of its properties as one of its main argu- 
ments why the then existing system of rates should not be disturbed. 

It was argued at length by the railroad attornevs that the road was 
under-capitalized, and that its present system of rates was only suffi- 
cient to make a fair showing on the capital invested in the property. 
The logical inference is that if this road should have occasion to meet a 
sudden emergency it would be necessary to raise instead of lower its 
rates. 

And who could say them nay.'' 

In a similar inquiry into rates of the Northern Pacific there was a 
similar line of argument, and the submitting of a similar physical valu- 
ation of property. It was noteworthy that in neither case was there a 



TRANSPORTATION 55 

searching cross-examination aimed at either set of valuations, and the tes- 
timony submitted by the railroads stands so far absolutely unrefuted. 

After the hearing of the cases referred to a member of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission is said to have asked an attorney representing the 
people why he did not cross-examine the railroad witnesses on the valu- 
ation of the road submitted during the hearing. 

"For the reason that it would take $100,000 and more than a year's 
work for me to make such a valuation of the properties on my own 
authority which would be even a basis for an intelligent cross-examina- 
tion," he replied. 

Right here is the real trouble. We are bound to rely upon the rail- 
roads and other common carriers, as the matter now stands, to tell us 
what they must yield in revenue to sustain themselves and to earn a fair 
revenue for their stockholders. It is easy to see that a federal valuation 
of railway properties, and the properties of common carriers generally, 
is absolutely essential to even a fair start at equitable rate making. 

So far the Interstate Commerce Commission is credited with only a 
few theoretical principles about rate making, and when they are sub- 
merged with figures supposed to be the result of calculations by experts 
purporting to cover a great railway system, the commission is power- 
less to deny or refute their correctness, as there is little or nothing of an 
authentic nature to offer in lieu of the figures submitted by the railroads 
themselves, and which can surely be relied upon as being high enough 
and too high. Here is where watered stock serves as a blind that works a 
serious hardship on the general public. 

Just how far there should be or will be federal intervention in rate 
making in the future, or how far there should or may be federal inter- 
vention even in the operation or the ownership of common carriers, time 
alone can tell. 

But if intervention should come who would be directly responsible for 
it but the railroads themselves ? It cannot be denied that the aggravated 
features that have arisen in the past and are still arising from time to 
time and the apparent arbitrary and defiant attitude of some transporta- 
tion magnates to the rights of the public in the matter of transporta- 
tion and its cost, is, indeed, a cause for grave alarm. 

I have paid close attention to expressions from different people in the 
trade from various sections of the country, and I am sure the prevailing 
and overwhelming sentiment is to play fair with all transportation lines, 
but there is a rigid determination to make the transportation lines toe the 
mark themselves. 

Nobody will be so unreasonable as to insist upon or even to request 



56 PRODUCE MARKETS AND :\rARKETTNG 

the railroads or other common carriers to do business at a loss by mak- 
ing rates too low. But at the same time, a majority of the business people 
of these United States revolt at the idea of being forced to cough up on 
shipment after shipment, to pay for something they are not getting, and 
in settling a charge they have no voice or influence in making as has been 
the case entirely with transportation charges, at least up until a few 
years ago, and still is to a greater or lesser extent. 

It is nice to talk about the people having the privilege of not paying 
rates by withholding shipments if they like, but the folly of such argu- 
ment is too evident to require comment in this connection. The public 
must use the transportation lines ; therefore, the rates for service fur- 
nished must be made reasonable, and the less arbitrary, "public-be- 
damned" arguments given out by the plutocrats and moguls higher up 
the better for all concerned, for sometime there may be a day of reckon- 
ing forced upon us, and it may be when the people are in a bad humor 
and they may have forgotten the American spirit which prefers to be 
governed by reason when possible, but who may become enraged when 
they see and know their rights are being trampled upon and to realize 
they have no redress but by physical force. 

Let us hope that proper remedies will be found for existing evils in 
transportation matters before such an unfortunate state of affairs shall 
be reached in this country. 

And it cannot be too strongly emphasized that the public "pays the 
freight" and is entitled by every rule of justice to have a voice in the 
fixing of charges imposed by the transportation lines for services ren- 
dered. Of course, it is the consumer who ultimately suffers from ex- 
orbitant freight rates and other excessive charges made for transportation 
and its necessary adjuncts. But the grower, the shipper, the producer 
and the distributor is bound to feel the effects of exorbitant or ill-adjusted 
freight rates iji the conduct of their business. 

A section of country may be embarassed, an industry may be crippled, 
a market may be ruined, a firm or individual may be put out of business, 
by the juggling of rates and by other manipulation of transportation 
charges upon which the whole scheme of business nowadays must rest. 
Beyond doubt, the rates charged by common carriers are, as a general 
proposition, too high so far as produce commodities are concerned, and 
were it only necessary to pay dividends on a capitalization representing 
more nearly the actual value of the railway properties, and were a more 
economical system adopted for the administration of transportation mat- 
ters generally, the rates could be reduced below the present level and 
still show a nice legitimate profit to the owners of railway securities 
based upon the actual valuation of physical assets. 



TRANSPORTATION 57 

Does it require the application of higher mathematics to prove that the 
moiie^' wliich is going to pay dividends on watered and fictitious securi- 
ties is no more or less than stolen from the general public? 

I am fully aware that we are dealing with generalities in this con- 
nection so far as the actual rates themselves are concerned, but I believe 
everyone connected indirectly or directl}^ with the produce business will 
bear me out in saying that watered stocks and fictitiovis securities con- 
stitute a real menace to the produce trade indirectly and to the general 
public directly. Fictitious securities mean high cost for transportation. 

An excessive rate covering a given commodity is a sure means of 
stifling the demand among consumers for that commodity whatever it may 
be. To charge 75c per hundred for poultry, butter and eggs between 
Chicago and New York, and at the same time allow dressed beef to move 
at about half tliis rate, is clearly a discrimination in favor of the latter 
commodity and results in a positive disadvantage to the former, which 
surely works to the financial loss of those handling dairy products both 
in the East and in the West. Here is an instance where the traffic is 
not so dissimilar in the essentials as to cause the wide difference in the 
existing rates. Many other cases might be cited to show that the prod- 
uce trade, because of the lack of sympathy and co-operation among its 
various interests, has frequently got the worst of it when the matter of 
rate making was being attended to. 

Again it is clearly a check on the fruit industry to assess outrageous 
refrigeration charges. It will be recalled that there was a round of 
vehement protests a few years ago at the system of highway robbery 
then in vogue by the private car lines which amounted to making ad- 
vance charges several times over the actual cost of the ice used, and 
what the actual service amounted to plus a reasonable profit. Some re- 
lief has been obtained on this score, however, but there is more room 
for common sense reform in the matter of refrigeration. 

I feel justified in urging that this phase of the transportation subject 
be not overlooked and that the trade continue its efforts for better re- 
frigeration at more reasonable cost. 

In a number of jobbing markets serious efforts should be made to secure 
proper refrigeration for less than carlot shipments from the jobbing points 
to the smaller towns, and also to insist upon having schedules as often 
as the traffic requires. 

It is also worth while that the trade see to it that such measures as 
are necessary be put into effect to require the railroads to show just 
what amount of ice has been used when an expense bill is rendered for 
icing with freight or express charges. This is especially desirable when 



58 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

there is no fixed charge for refrigeration from initial point to destination, 
and in all cases the information is worth obtaining and j^rescrving for 
the handling of claims and for other purposes. 

Certainly one of the most acute, wide-spread and insidious evils in the 
transportation field as relates to the produce trade has been with the 
express companies. Little appreciated and less understood, this has been 
a graft,— a plain hold-up in many cases — that has no equal in the annals 
of traffic in this country. The invasion of the produce field by the ex- 
press people through their order and commission departments is one 
of the unwritten chapters of the old days when a charter for a trans- 
portation agency was looked upon, at least by some, as a license to steal. 

The scheme of having an express agent in one town buy or sell fruits 
and produce for another in another town, allowing a divy among the 
agents and giving the company a haul, was one of the most complete 
plans to cripple and eventually ruin the legitimate produce jobbing busi- 
ness that the mind of man has yet devised. 

Of all the transportation evils none has been more flagrant than the 
treatment of the fruit and produce trade at the hands of the express com- 
panies. Shipments of early fruits and ve'getables from Southern points 
to Northern markets have been handled scandalously in a number of in- 
stances season after season, and at the same time upon a series of rates 
that almost make one weep to look at them. What is worse, these ship- 
ments have been tossed around by some of the express people about like 
so much junk. It appears, however, that a few of the express officials have 
had a kind of awakening of conscience, and I sincerely hope a change of 
heart. 

But the express people can render even better service than they are 
now giving both as to the running time and the transfers, and also in 
the matter of delivery and the manner in which their employes take 
care of shipments. Some of them have yet to learn that perishable fruits 
and produce need extra care, and when extra rates, often outrageously 
high, are being paid for their carriage I believe the trade is justified in 
demanding and insisting upon proper treatment so far as service is 
concerned. 

Whether a plan will ever be devised to drive the express companies out 
of the produce business is a matter that is hard to predict. Some of them 
have said that they would discontinue handling fruits and produce through 
their agents, but it seems they had their fingers crossed while they were 
talking as there are still good reasons to believe that they are doing as 
much business now as they ever did. To say the least, they will bear 
watching and unless they are driven out of the business it is doubtful 



TRANSPORTATION 59 

if they will ever relinquish such a juicy graft, and one which they can 
work even under the nose of a crafty produce man without his knowledge 
unless he is a good detective and sits up nights. 

While I am talking about these express matters I want to say that 
it is not too much to hope for the time to come when the service sup- 
posed to be rendered by the exjDress companies will be discharged by the 
railroads themselves. It would take a mind more analytical than the 
author's, and a philosophy more erudite than he shall ever dare profess, 
to define precisely what the line of demarcation is between the service 
rendered by railroads and express companies, and to show that the 
express companies have any real excuse for a separate existence. 

But so long as the two forms of transportation are distinguishable in 
practice we can consider the express evils on their own basis. Obviously, 
their solution depends upon concerted efforts among the trade, and if 
there are no laws in existence now which are sufficient to cope with this, 
as well as other transportation evils, it is up to the produce interests 
to join hands with others who are similarly afflicted and secure such legis- 
lation as may be necessary to bring relief. 

It is probably a bad idea to look for a panacea for transportation ills 
and evils of all kinds instead of trying to work out an individual remedy 
for every peculiar ill or evil. 

Some people in the trade have been so unsophisticated as to regard 
the Hepburn bill, commonly known as the rate law, passed by Congress 
several years ago, as a sort of cure-all. There can be no doubt that this 
law has eliminated certain evils and cured certain defects, but it is 
equally certain that there are still a number of bad things in traffic which 
appear to have escaped its operation entirely. No doubt this new law is 
a step in the right direction, for its provisions have in a measure put a 
check on the advantages obtained by the big shippers as against the small 
shippers. It has also effectively abolished tlie rebate in j^i'actice as 
such, and has given the authorities a better chance to get a glimpse at 
the inner workings of the transportation machine. 

But I contend that the rate law cannot by any means be considered 
a panacea for traffic abuses. Further legislation both as relates to inter- 
state and intrastate traffic will no doubt have to be secured in the course 
of the next few years, and it is up to the people in the trade to do 
their duty and aid in the passing of such laws as will best protect their 
rights and their property. 

Before closing this chapter I want to say a few words on behalf of 
some of the transportation men, — that is the minor officials, solicitors, 
clerks, agents, and even the yard men and train crews themselves with 
which the trade is touching elbows and meeting every day. 



60 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Many of these fellows are real friends of reforms which they are 
powerless to make. These solicitors who are constant^ visible on the 
landscape when they get on trail of some traffic are hard to head off from 
the man who has the routing of it. They are as numerous as the sands 
of the sea, and they seem to multiply faster than any other species of 
mankind for they are ever increasing, and every generation of them 
seems to possess better olfactories with which to smell out traffic and 
each succeeding generation also seems to be born with a richer fund of 
stories. 

It is to be regretted that the kind of men at the top of the trans- 
portation business are not the same kind of broad-gauge, jovial, fair- 
minded fellows we usually find in the lower walks of the business. There 
are some exceptions, I know, in both divisions but there are few among 
the higher officials who have the respect and confidence of the shipping 
public as is the case with the men you generally meet in the lower ranks. 



CHAPTER VII 

CO-OPERATION 

The present age is one of co-operation although competition is not yet 
eliminated from the realm of commercial affairs, and in all probability 
never will be. But it is true that the benefits of co-operation overbalance 
the advantages of competition in a majority of cases, especially when 
competition is no more than a jealous contest. 

The co-operative idea is to be found in the produce trade more and 
more every year, and it may be predicted with reasonable certainty that 
there will be still more co-operation as its benefits become better under- 
stood. 

But there are limitations to the application of the co-operative prin- 
ciple as it relates to the produce business, for the nature of the busi- 
ness precludes the formation of such a thing as a produce trust, which 
is the logical point or the ultimate end to which co-operation tends, 
despite the fact that we are treated to a lot of dope in the papers now 
and then about a trust controlling the egg market or a combine forcing 
apple prices up, — or an absolute corner in Hubbard squashes. 

Those on the inside know the futility of trying to form or operate a 
produce trust. It is barely possible that some particular commodity 
may be juggled with now and then, but it is written in the history of 
some of these deals that fingers have been burned, and losses have been 
incurred that almost take on the aspect of a bear raid on the stock ex- 
change when panic seizes the whole speculating fraternity and prices 
go tumbling like so much lead. 

Possibly the main reason why no general trust can be formed in the 
produce field is because the various commodities are gathered from such 
a widely separated territory, and because the articles embraced in the 
business are produced and marketed by so many different people of widely 
different views on politics, religion and business itself, that it is next 
kin to impossible for a trust or combine to be formed that will be like 

61 



02 PRODUCE MARKETS AND IMARKETIXG 

the steel trust, the oil trust or the sugar trust. The basic idea of a 
trust is to control both the source of supply and the means of distribu- 
tion. So long as different races, conditions and classes of people devote 
themselves to the production and marketing of all kinds of produce it is 
only a remote possibility that a produce or fruit combination resting on 
the co-operative idea, embracing all kinds of commodities, will ever be 
put into practice for any considerable time. 

But the co-operative jDrinciple does not necessarily imply that a trust 
must be formed to enjoy a great many benefits that come from working 
together among the various branches of the trade. Growers and shippers 
may form associations, and associations may band themselves into federa- 
tions for the purpose of lending one another assistance in growing and 
marketing, and secure excellent results under a liberal plan of allowing 
individuals to exercise their own judgment within certain limits. Dealers 
and jobbers may be of great assistance to one another in the exchange of 
information, or in buying and selling without interfering in the slightest 
with one another's affairs, and without putting any barriers whatever in 
the way of free trading. 

Co-operation, is the very essence of the association idea. In a later 
chapter I shall have considerable to say on the subject of associations; 
I shall point out some of their benefits, and shall try to show some 
of their weaknesses and short comings, as well as offer some suggestions 
for their proper regulation. 

Ideal co-operation may be properly said to rest on the golden rule. 
The theory is very pretty, butj its application in every day practice is 
often extremely difficult, sometimes utterly impossible. Selfishness kills 
co-operation just as Jack Frost plays havoc with tender vegetation. Men 
who allow the rim of the dollar to obscure their horizon so completely 
as to shut out of view the prosperity and happiness of their fellows, 
and also their competitors, can hardly be expected to see how legitimate 
co-operation is a panacea for some commercial disorders and a relief 
for nearly all economic ills. Those men who doubt the benefits of correct 
co-operation are the jay birds of business who argue that there is no 
such thing as music and then sing to prove it. 

A line such as the produce business, so fraught with ups and downs, 
so punctuated with disappointments, hard knocks, losses, headaches and 
heartaches, should be full of co-operation and sympathy. Instead of the 
glad hand and a word of encouragement, a fellow playing in hard luck 
generally gets a shrug of the shoulders and the icy stare from his prod- 
uce competitors, or else the wretches may assume a grandiloquent air, 
remain absolutely impassive and hand the poor unfortunate cuss a "lemon" 



CO-OPERATION 63 

when he may be sweating blood over a few cars of these sour globules 
that have gone off a dollar a box as the weather went off a few degrees. 

The man or firm who gloats over their competitors' misfortunes are 
simply heathens who know nothing of the higher philosophy which teaches 
the brotherhood of mankind. Unless dealers, growers, shippers, in fact, 
everj'body in the trade wishes everyone else a fair measure of success 
and prosperity, they are a menace to the trade and are hardly entitled to 
the measly dollars they pile up and thus contaminate with their very 
touch. There is business enough for everybody so long as everybody 
is decent, plays fair and plugs hard. 

Pray do not think I am purposely digressing for I am only emphasizing 
the desirability of sensible co-operation by presenting its contrary, — in- 
sane competition. Because some other association winds up the season 
with better profits than another, because some other commission man 
lands a big contract that another was trying to land, or because some 
competitor secures a big order others were figuring on, or catches one 
of your old customers, what is the use of making faces ? Cheer up ! In 
the language of the immortal poet "forget it." 

The other association has no patent on its system ; you should have 
no fly specks on yours ; you dyspeptic, old grouch of a dealer, do you not 
realize that you have no mortgage on the buying or selling ends of a 
majority of your trade, that it is perhaps best to swap around occa- 
sionally, that you probably had it coming to you to lose part of your 
trade just to remind you that your customer and your competitor are in 
the same "swimming hole" with you and they are using the same "spring 
board" that you are trying to hog for yourself, but which belongs to all 
the "boys." Just remember you had to get your trade away from some- 
body once upon a time. 

Co-operation means not only to live and let live, but it carries an 
injunction to help the other fellow live. I am not writing after returning 
from preaching, nor am I putting it on paper because it reads nicely, but 
I am trying to impress it upon you that by helping others you help your- 
self. The effort is worth while to promote good cheer in the trade, and to 
insure peace and progress among your fellows. 

It is quite true that co-operation as applied to produce matters has 
an infinite range, extending all the way from the friendly word of en- 
couragement to the investment of a large part of your capital in a deal 
where you depend largely upon your judgment and the honesty of your 
associates who may be in a sense your competitors, maybe your saviors 
in a business way. 

I suppose it will not be startling news to some that a number of 



64 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

produce people have become sufficiently civilized to join hands in lots of 
deals, although they may be engaged in a continual friendly contest over 
certain other trade affairs. In the matter of cutting down expenses in buy- 
ing or soliciting the plan often works like a charm, especially where houses 
in different markets get together on the scheme, and where everybody 
knows what he is expected to do and what he must do if he stays in the 
"life boat." Shippers who are consigning cars to the same market find it 
possible to have a man or several men as occasion requires to look after 
shipments when they arrive at destination, and even while they are in 
transit. It would be impossible for the individual shipper to undertake 
such a scheme unless his operations were far in excess of the average. 

An excellent idea of the positive and lasting good coming from the 
right kind of co-operation may be found in the National League of Com- 
mission Merchants, the Western Fruit Jobbers Association, the Inter- 
national Apple Shippers Association, the various local exchanges in 
different markets, the hundreds of associations for the marketing of fruits, 
vegetables and produce throughout the country, and also in the various 
clubs among produce people which are really helpful to their members. 

These organizations wield a tremendous moral as well as political 
power, besides exerting a beneficent influence upon their members in many 
respects. The sum total of their operations has been to secure improved 
conditions in the trade, to disseminate valuable information, to help pre- 
vent losses in business, to provide improved methods of trading, to 
discover and develop new markets, to get the best results in grading and 
packing, to work for the passage of good laws, to control and remedy 
transportation abuses, etc., etc., in short, to do a hundred and one things 
that cannot be done well, if at all, where individuals or firms are working 
separately and independently ; and last but not least, to promote a fra- 
ternal feeling among the trade and convince the men engaged in the 
business that they are not living for themselves alone, and that the full- 
est measure of success means that a broad, sensible course must be 
adopted and followed always by everybody in the trade if his influence 
is to be worth while and if his success is to be real and lasting. 

If reasonable concerted effort is made along the right lines the results 
obtained are often wonderful. Two firms or individuals can co-operate 
just as they can compete. The same applies to a hundred or a thousand. 
But they must be honest, have confidence in one another, and must have 
a correct system of trading, and besides be aggressive if the plan of 
co-operation is to succeed. 

As pretty as tlie tlicory of co-operation is, and as nicely as the scheme 
works if properly planned and pushed, still if it is carried too far it 
usually produces atrophy instead of action, weakness instead of strength. 



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CO-OPERATION 65 

There is always the danger of putting a bar on individual effort which 
is the essential factor in achieving the, highest success in modern busi- 
ness just as it is true in our system of government that the individual 
is intended to be left with as much freedom of action as possible^ although 
the chief idea of a democracy is that we shall help bear one another's 
burdens and especially that the strong shall help the weak. This applies 
to all broad matters bearing on the common good. 

The seeming conflict with the co-operative idea is explained by allow- 
ing everyone to perform such matters alone if he can best attend to 
them in that way^ and to join hands and hearts with others when occasion 
demands, and to continue the joint operation so long as common sense or 
the circumstances may require. I know there is such a thing as co- 
operation gone wild just as there is competition gone wild, and I shall 
have more to say on this subject later on. 

Above all, we must recognize common sense as a guide. Do not under- 
take to make the co-operative idea do the impossible, nor perform for you 
what you could and shduld do on your own account. 

The co-operative idea can easily be ridden to death like a willing 
horse. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 

Whatever else may be said on the subject of associations it remains 
clear that the plan involves a system. Where several score or several 
hundred individual growers or producers unite in marketing their fruits 
or produce through a centralized agency a big advantage should result 
in the cutting down of ovei'head expenses, and under an economical ad- 
ministration the cost of marketing is reduced to the minimum. 

Again, in the matter of turning out the best grade and pack the asso- 
ciation plan makes it possible to obtain the best and most experienced 
help which may cost considerably more than an individual would care 
to spend unless he conducted an extensive business. Moreover, in the 
matter of selling the centralized plan whereby all orders are booked 
through one office and all shipments and deliveries are kept track 
of, and whereby transportation is made a specialty, there is no doubt but 
the association plan is to be soundly endorsed. 

I think there is little question but that the general benefits from co- 
operation justify growers and shippers in forming such organizations 
as may seem necessary to accomplish certain ends. 

Naturally, the main difficulty with the association system is to find 
competent, honest men to take charge of the business and handle it 
properly. 

The very best system in the hands of the wrong kind of men over- 
balances the benefits from co-operation. There have been numerous 
instances of plain graft among association officials in the past, and it 
seems there is no way of preventing certain irregularities except by 
finding the right men and paying a sufficient price for their services to 
place them beyond the influence of "easy money" which may be handed 
to them by various interests for doing or not doing certain things in 
a particular way. 

It would be unfair, I know, to the honest officials for the author to 

66 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 67 

make this statement so broad as to include all officials, for there is no 
doubt but the average officials of associations handling fruits and produce 
are good business men who are known to have characters above reproach ; 
they have generally secured fine results for growers and shippers and 
most of them are entitled to more money for their services than they are 
accustomed to receive. 

But I cannot refrain from laying stress on the importance of growers 
and shippers keeping their eyes wide open if there is cause for suspicion 
that their interests are not being properly served, although when they 
strike a bad season or have an unprofitable deal it is unwise as well as 
unjust to conclude that the trouble lies with their association manage- 
ment until they have made a thorough investigation of the facts involved, 
and have conferred with other members of the association on the subject. 

Dishonesty, like murder, will out. A crafty individual may ingratiate 
himself in the esteem and confidence of growers so that he literally has 
them wrapped around his finger, and although he may be making them 
money every year, he may also be receiving rebates, rake-offs or other 
forms of graft that will ultimately make him rich beyond the dreams of 
avarice. The author hopes that the honest element, which predominates 
among association officials, will only consider these statements in the spirit 
in which they are intended. He who strives to discharge his obligations 
faithfully and intelligently, although he may suffer frequent reverses, will 
have the support and sympathy of his fellow men provided they have 
reasonable assurance that he is doing the best he can and that possibly 
the same results would accrue under the direction of any other individual 
who might be selected to take his place. 

With reference to the duties of an association manager the following 
may be said to be true: 

The work of a manager is a very complicated piece of business. It 
taxes his ingenuity to the limit to execute it with credit and satisfaction. 
It is a business that requires experience. It properly belongs to an ex- 
pert, a tactician, a diplomat. The intricacies of the business can not be 
learned and mastered in a single season. If, after a manager has ex- 
hausted all his skill, all his tactics, all his schemes of diplomacy, all his 
power of manipulation, all his strength of thought and energy of action, 
he does not overcome his difficulties and please his people, he may at least 
comfort himself with the hope that in spite of these things he may yet 
enter the kingdom of Heaven, for they who enter there are said to come 
up out of great tribulations. 

We read in sacred story; of a wonderful fruit land in a distant country 
whence, because they are so well pleased, no traveler e'er returns. In 



68 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

that land the orchards are planted in the fertile valleys close beside the 
Jiving streams that unceasingly flow from the everlasting hills. The 
orchards are irrigated and cultivated without toil and without expense, 
and they flourish so richly that the trees never wither and the branches 
never perish. The trees bear not a single variety of fruit but twelve, 
each ripening in its month, so that the fruit is always fresh and the 
supply is always full. The fruit is faultless, perfect in form and size, 
glorious in color and exquisite in flavor. No sting of curculio is seen, 
no speck of fungus fever, no ugly wiggling worm. Moreover, the croj^s 
are abundant. There is enough for all. And the fruit is free, alike to 
rich and poor. It may be purchased without money and without price. 
There the wicked cease from troubling and the weary managers are at 
rest, for trials and difficulties are no more. 

There has been more or less controversy over the question of pooling 
among growers and shippers and the subject still seems to rest on de- 
batable ground, although there appears to be ample experience to sustain 
the pooling system as being legitimate and correct. 

When contracts are made by an association with an individual to mar- 
ket certain commodities through the association under certain conditions, 
it seems no more than reasonable and right that both parties to the con- 
tract make a faithful endeavor to discharge their obligations under the 
terms of their contract or agreement. Too often growers and shippers 
get the idea that they can squirm out of tlieir contracts with impunity and 
seem to forget that they are duty-bound to stick up to their agreements 
for the mutual protection of themselves and neighbors. Nearly every sea- 
son there is more or less trouble with associations all over the country 
when a few members decide to pull out and market their products inde- 
pendently after they have entered into a hard and fast contract to ship or 
sell through an association. 

Numerous cases involving disputes over the rights of the grower or 
shipper in matters of this kind have found their way into the courts, and 
in a majority of cases, unless there are extenuating circumstances, the 
courts have held that when growers pool their interests they are bound to 
market their goods as their contracts provide. This is the only common 
sense view to take, for if one grower or shipper has the right to pull out 
of an association after lie has become a member and agreed to abide by 
its general regulations, tliere is no reason why the second or third or even 
all of the growers would not also have the right to withdraw, and com- 
pletely disrupt the best organized and best operated association in the 
country. 

Those growers or shippers who may have any reasonable doubt about 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 69 

the advantages of joining an association and who do not feel sure they 
can execute its general orders and fulfill whatever contract they enter 
into with the association would better not join in the first instance. Some 
men in nearly every organization seem to be gifted principally with 
making trouble, and the quicker such men are thrown overboard, if they 
cannot be controlled, the better for all parties concerned. 

Now and then members of associations, as well as some people in the 
trade generally, are unreasonable in their demands and expect too much 
of the association plan. The grower or shipper who joins an organiza- 
tion which is devoted to the growing or the marketing of fruits and prod- 
uce should not expect the organization to perform miracles. After all, 
the best organization represents so many individual units as are em- 
braced in its membership and its official staff. 

However complete the organization may be, however superb the talent 
it may employ to do its thinking and marketing, there are lots of things 
it cannot accomplish, although there are many things it can and may ac- 
complish. For example, unless every individual grower observes the reg- 
ulations covering grading and packing it is certain that his fruits or 
products will give trouble. 

The success or failure of an association depends almost entirely on the 
class of goods it has to market and the way those goods are prepared and 
handled from the time they leave the points of origin until they reach 
the consumer, and I think it unnecessary to spend more time trying to 
make it clear that the individual who is a member of an association should 
not depend upon the organization to do all of his thinking, nor should 
he try to force the organization to perform unreasonable feats such as 
getting the highest market prices for inferior, off grade fruits and 
produce. 

Very likely it is true that because the centralized co-operative plan 
succeeds in making money by saving money on marketing a certain com- 
modity, or if there is a special run of good luck in a given season, it nat- 
urally gives rise to a degree of reliance upon the organization for making 
good always thereafter in marketing nearly every commodity or in any 
other matter. And if the most sanguine expectations are not realized 
there may be trouble to follow. 

It is a question if it is not a mixed blessing when officials, and the man- 
agement of such organizations generally, are constantly striving for rec- 
ord breaking deals in the way of season's profits. By this I mean to say, 
when high prices are obtained for oranges this year, which may be due to 
extraordinary conditions, the returns next year, probably with an entirely 
different set of conditions, may be lower but may represent even greater 



70 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

skill in handling than the previous season. But now and then the man- 
agements of different organizations get the riot act read to them for no 
other reason, and they are confronted with dismissal or embarrassment 
because they did not set a new record above their predecessors which 
record was possibly accidental, wholly or in part. 

It is usually best for officials to promise little beyond faithful, honest 
services and guarantee nothing in the way of returns but the best average 
the goods to be sold will obtain. 

No man should allow himself to become an association official or to be- 
come identified with the management of an organization of this kind 
unless he has the confidence of his constituents and also has a full grasp 
of the duties he is expected to perform. He should strive diligently to 
see that full justice is done to everybody, and if it bankrupts the organi- 
zation he should strive to preserve the integrity of his association, and 
maintain its reputation for straightforward dealing and for fulfilling its 
contracts. If certain goods have been sold for future delivery and if the 
market goes higher and better prices can be realized by jumping con- 
tracts, the honest official will see that the tricky member is compelled to 
toe the mark. Those officials who are lax in this respect and allow such 
business will bear watching among the growers and shippers themselves. 
The only man worth while tying to in the business world is the fellow 
who is honest in all things and who will insist that his own people play 
fair if they are going to expect others to do so. 

Good judgment should be used, of course, in the matter of making con- 
tracts, securing advances, etc., as in all things else pertaining to the man- 
agement of an association. A careful survey should be made and the 
conditions should be sized up as well as possible. Sometimes, and for 
some classes of fruits and vegetables especially, arrangements are made 
for marketing long before the goods are ready for shipment. In such 
cases it is utterly impossible to say what the future has in store and it is 
purely in the light of past experience and the prospects ahead that con- 
tracts or promises are made. 

In all cases it is the best plan to connect with reliable commission men 
or marketing agents, and lay plans well in advance for distributing the 
products in prospect. Every detail should be carefully arranged and 
everj'body should know what he is expected to do and when it is to be 
done. Packages should be provided and transportation facilities and 
requirements looked into, and every other matter settled so far as can be. 

Another thing that is highly important is the subject of properly ad- 
vertising whatever products are to be grown and marketed. Whenever 
possible the quantity to be shipped, the grade, pack, brands or marks 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 71 

should be published to tlie world, but since the whole world cannot be 
reached it is well to tr^' to reach that highly important part known as the 
trade, and which is tlie essential part to make the proper plea before, for 
the public uses what goods are put up and offered for sale and the average 
consumer has no idea whatever about who grows or ships what he buys 
daily in the different markets. 

But the trade is watching and keeping up with such matters and if the 
individual or the association has an article of quality that can be had at 
the right price it will be sought after if it is well known. 

To make it known is to advertise it. But publicity costs money and 
the association or individual should not object to spending a reason- 
able sum for advertising in different publications, and in other ways 
to make the correct impression on the trade that is expected to serve 
the goods out to the general public. 

It is well enough to have growers' names on wrappers, baskets, boxes, 
or barrels so as to reach the consumer direct, or even to set aside an 
appropriation for use in a general campaign of publicity calling attention 
of the public to certain merits of certain products. But usually such 
publicity comes high and is hardly so effective as that which appeals 
directly to the trade, for it is here the test of merit must be made. It 
does little good for one to claim that "Such and Such" grapes grown 
by "So and So" are the best to be had and go to the consumer with 
such argument, if the aforesaid consumer can find out even from the 
despised huckster that "Sxach and Such" grapes are inferior to "This 
and That" grapes, and what is worse he may produce the "deadly paral- 
lel" by exhibiting some of both kinds. 

By all means growers should strive to produce quality, to give honest 
goods and honest pack and weight for honest money, and let the trade 
know about it. It is no use trying to fool men who know more about 
the subject under treatment than you do. 

What has been said in regard to associations applies also to individ- 
uals. After all, the association is only an aggregation of individuals 
and what is good for one is good for the other and vice versa. But 
there are cases where the individual possesses advantages over and above 
the association and this is especially true of certain articles in certain 
seasons. 

Roughly speaking, the association represents wholesale dealing; the 
individual retail. The one is co-operative and liberal; the other is 
monopolistic and selfish. Varying circumstances justify both systems in 
marketing, but there can be no doubt that the individual who has some- 
thing to put on the market, and if he knows the ropes thoroughly can 



72 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

save himself the extra pains and expense involved in marketing through 
an association by attending to his own business. Every grower or ship- 
per must be his own judge of certain matters, even when an association 
is available and he is a member, provided he keeps his pledges as to 
marketing. 

Some articles in the fruit and produce line are almost impossible of 
being successfully handled through an association. This is especially 
true of northern staples such as potatoes, onions, cabbage, etc., which 
are handled through a long season and which at times become very specu- 
lative. 

It is worthy of note that associations, or for that matter, any co-oper- 
ative organization is unfitted for speculation. Such organizations are 
good at making money, but are usually hard losers. Officers of asso- 
ciations know what it means to fail to take advantage of the market, 
although it may be beyond human ken to say what the advantage of 
the market is until it is past and gone. Here is a case where the in- 
dividual has a great advantage over the association and there is no way 
to offset that advantage, as the individual who possesses enough fore- 
sight to be a good speculator for himself generally has enough sense to 
be his own beneficiary and to limit his operations to his own investments. 
After all, an association is intended mainly to market fruits and produce 
and not for speculative purposes, although it may be the creature of 
circumstance and may be forced into speculation to a greater or lesser 
degree. On the contrary, the individual needs only the opportunity to 
make him become a speculator, and he has no one but himself to account 
to if he should lose out. 

Among the disadvantages of an association is the red tape and the 
awkwardness in the management of a big organization. If a change of 
policy is necessary it takes a great deal more effort usually to make such 
changes than is necessary when an individual desires to make them. 

The author has been asked again and again for an opinion as to when 
it is worth while to form an association and how many members there 
should be. To all such inquiries he would reply: No fixed rule can be 
established. Perhaps all those who feel disposed should join associa- 
tions if they are in reach of one, and associations should be organized 
where there are enough growers or shippers, or enough of either or both 
who feel that their interests can be served best by an organization. An 
association can be incorporated with little expense, or it may be loosely 
organized in the shape of a society ; it may have a rigid contract with 
all members or it may be so liberal as to allow individual members to 
do as they please so long as certain lines are not transgressed. 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 73 

It is hardly worth while to go into a minute discussion of associa- 
tion management for such is purely detail, and anything of this char- 
acter would be subject to exceptions which would possibly be of no use 
to a majority of organizations. 

This much I will say, however: All associations should be run on a 
broad gauge system and so far as possible should not conflict with 
natural rights or individual effort and initiative. By no means should 
red tape and parliamentary practice take the place of common sense 
and the fraternal spirit so necessary to make any organization a success. 

The association should recognize its limitations and never undertake 
the impossible. Because it can do one thing well is no proof that it can 
do all things well, and it should, therefore, be held to its original pur- 
pose and its members and officials should strive always to make the or- 
ganization beneficial, instructive and elevating to the community, the 
trade and to the whole country. Neither the association nor the individ- 
ual grower can evade the great law of service, and it is to accomplish a 
more effective service in an organized capacity that any association should 
be formed. 

For the benefit of growers in many localities I have thought it may 
be well to include in full the articles pertaining to the organization and 
management of an association, it being substantially the same as the 
constitution and by-laws of one of the leading fruit growers' organiza- 
tions in the southwest. It should be borne in mind, however, that for 
various reasons the articles I suggest as a pattern may have to be varied 
considerably to cover certain peculiarities in some other organization 
designed for some other purpose than the handling of fruits. The serv- 
ices of a good lawyer should be sought if necessary to get an organiza- 
tion together in working order and to make sure that no state or federal 
laws are being violated. 

The articles above referred to are as follows : 

PREAMBLE 

For the purpose of co-operating in the growing and mar- 
keting of fruits and vegetables, and in providing packages 
and spraying materials, fertilizers, etc., for same, we, 
whose names are hereto annexed, adopt the following con- 
stitution and by-laws: 

CONSTITUTION 

Article I. This organization shall be known as the 



Article II. The officers of this association shall be 



74 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

president, vice president, recording secretarj^, treasurer, 
business manager, and a business committee consisting of 
five members, including the business manager, all of said 
officers to be elected by ballot in July of each year. The 
business committee to be elected first. A majority of all 
ballots cast shall be necessary to elect. No member of this 
association shall hold more than one office in the associa- 
tion at one time, except the business manager, who is also 
required to be a member of the business committee. Only 
those of good, moral character shall be eligible as a mem- 
ber of the business committee. 

Article III. This association shall meet on the of 

each month at the at — — o'clock p. m., unless 

, adjourned to meet elsewhere. 

Article IV. Any person who is a horticulturist or agri- 
culturist may make application for membership (in writ- 
ing), and must be recommended by two members 
of the association. The membership fee of one dol- 
lar, and the annual dues of one dollar, must accom- 
pany the application and be offered at a regular meeting 
by some member of the association. The application will 
then be referred to a committee of three members and 
laid over to next regular meeting, when if report of com- 
mittee is favorable it shall be balloted upon. An appli- 
cant to be elected must receive two-thirds of all votes cast. 
Applications for membership must be filed not later than 
the March meeting in order to enable the applicant to ship 
with the association the current year. 

Article V. When growers in this association ship ber- 
ries as a firm or company, each individual member of the 
firm or company must become a member of the association. 
No firm or company will be allowed to vote by proxy on 
any proposition before the association. 

Article VI. The annual dues of this association shall be 
one dollar, payable July 1 each year. 

Article VII. A quorum shall consist of seven members 
to do business. 

Article VIII. In case of a vacancy in office the vacancy 
shall be filled at the first regular meeting or in case of 
emergency at a called meeting. 

Article IX. This constitution may be amended at any 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 75 

regular meeting by a three-fourths vote of the members 
present, provided the proposed amendment shall have been 
written and in the hands of the secretary and read by him 
at two regular meetings previously. 

BY-LAWS 

No. 1. All officers of this association shall assume the 
duties of their respective offices at the August meeting and 
perform the duties required of them by the rules of the 
association. The president shall call special meetings when 
requested to do so by the business committee or on petition 
of five members of the association. The deliberations of 
this association shall be governed by the rules of Cushing's 
Manual of Parlimentary Usages. 

No. 2. The vice president shall, in the absence of the 
president, perform the duties of the president. In the 
iabsence of both president and vice president, a temporary 
chairman may be elected by the association. The chap- 
lain shall conduct the devotional exercises of the associa- 
tion. 

No. 3. The recording secretary shall keep an accurate 
minute or record of all the transactions of the association. 
He shall be the keeper of all the papers and records of the 
association except his own bond. He shall collect all 
moneys due the association for dues, fees, fines and for- 
feitures. He shall pay over all moneys coming into his 
hands to the treasurer every month, taking the treasurer's 
receipt therefor, and file said receipt with the auditing com- 
mittee as soon as they are appointed. He shall give a bond 
of four hundred dollars, signed by two good securities. 
Said bond shall be kept by the president. He shall re- 
ceive twenty-five dollars per year for his services. 

No. 4. The treasurer shall receive all moneys belong- 
ing to the association from the hands of the recording sec- 
retary, giving his receipt therefor ; render a true account 
of all moneys received and paid out and to whom paid. He 
will pay out money on warrants ordered by the association 
and signed by the president and secretary. He shall give 
a bond of one thousand dollars signed by two or more good 
securities, and he shall receive twenty-five dollars per year 
for his services. 



76 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

No. 5. The business manager shall act as secretary' and 
treasurer of the business committee. He shall keep a full 
and correct record of all transactions of the committee and 
attend to all the correspondence of the association. He 
shall receive all the returns from the commission merchants 
and other sources, and make disposition of same as quickly 
as possible as directed by No. 14 of the by-laws. When 
elected he shall execute a satisfactory bond in the sum of 
$25,000 to the association as individual members, for the 
faithful performance of the duties required of him as sec- 
retary and treasurer. He shall receive for his services one 
per cent of the gross sales of all fruits and berries shipped. 
He shall employ a bookkeeper and all other help needed 
at the shipping sheds at salaries which, in his judgment, 
are economical to the association, and at the same time just 
to the one employed. The salary of the manager, and other 
help, shall be paid out of a fund created for this purpose. 
He shall have full control of the shipping sheds. He shall 
present his books and accounts to the auditing committee 
when said committee is appointed to examine the accounts 
of this association as provided by No. 18 of the by-laws. 

No. 5. (Sec. 1.) The business committee as soon as 
they shall have been elected, shall organize by electing one 
of their number chairman. They shall meet at the call of 
their chairman. They shall have power over the actions 
of the business manager as a whole, and in case of sickness, 
death or any other disability of the manager during the 
shipping season, shall select a temporary manager. The 
chairman and each member of the committee, excepting 
the business manager, shall receive two dollars each meet- 
ing of the committee, for members in attendance. It shall 
be the duty of the business committee to select the commis- 
sion merchants who shall handle the berries of the as- 
sociation. 

No. 5. (Sec. 2.) For the purpose of paying the busi- 
ness manager, bookkeeper and all other help and expenses 
incurred in the shipment of berries, there shall be set aside 
two per cent of the gross sales of all shipments. After all 
salaries and expenses have been paid, the remainder of this 
fund to be pro-rated to the growers as other receipts. All 
of the bonds given by members of this association shall be 
approved by the association. 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 77 

No. 6. Each officer, committee, agent, or any other 
member shall present to the association for approval by 
a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular 
meeting, an itemized account of any expense to which he 
may have been, and upon such approval, a warrant shall be 
issued in his favor on the treasurer. 

No. 7. Nothing shall be so construed as to hold any 
member responsible for the provisions of the constitution or 
by-laws, who shall voluntarily withdraw from the asso- 
ciation or quit the business of fruit growing. 

No. 8. Any member withdrawing from the association 
shall be entitled to receive his dividend of the unexpended 
rebate, but shall forfeit to the association all other money 
belonging thereto. 

No. 9. A voter in this organization shall be a member 
who is a grower of fruits or berries. No member shall have 
more than one vote on, any subject. 

No. 10. All members of this association must buy all of 
their crate or spraying materials through the association. 

No. 11. All members obligate themselves to turn over 
all fruits or berries to the business committee, to be shipped 
by them, except those they may need to supply home de- 
mand, or for shipment to friends. In no case shall any 
member be allowed to sell fruits or berries for shipment, 
unless he obtains consent of the business committee to do 
so. Upon complaint of any one that a member violates the 
above obligation, the business committee shall make an in- 
vestigation at once, and if found guilty, the secretary shall 
be notified to drop his name from the membership list. It 
is of great importance that the growers deliver all fruit to 
the management, that commission houses arranged with 
may not at any time be disappointed by not receiving ex- 
pected shipments. Each grower must deliver or be in line 
ready to deliver at the shipping sheds all fruits or berries 
he has to ship each day not later than ten (10) o'clock p. m. 

No. 12. (a) The grades of strawberries will be two, 
designated as "A" and "B" (the "B" grades blank). The 
"A" grade must be strictly choice, firm, sound stock, of 
good size. The "B" grade must also be firm and sound, 
but may be somewhat smaller. Where the difference in sell- 
ing price is not noted on account sales of receivers, the sec- 



78 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

retary shall make division on a basis of a difference of 25 
cents per crate between the two grades. Fruit that is too 
soft or otherwise unfit to grade "B" will be rejected. After 
inspection at shipping sheds berries that grade "A" will 
have the crates stamped on both ends with the association's 
trade mark which shall read as follows, viz : 

(Whatever name of brand and association may be.) 

No. 12. (b) (Grading and packing rules for other, 
fruits or vegetables may be put here.) 

No. 13. It shall be the duty of the business committee 
to employ a man of good judgment and ability to inspect 
all fruit delivered by growers for shipment, and he shall 
be given as many assistants as are necessary ; and he shall 
have power to change grades and reject any and all fruit 
which, in his judgment, and the judgment of the business 
committee, is unfit for shipment. 

No. 14. Each grower shall receive the average price 
per crate of each grade each day. Should it be necessary 
to hold over fruits or berries from one day to the following 
day for shipment, then the number carried over shall be 
disbursed with that day's shipment. A clean-up shall ap- 
pear as having been made each day. 

No. 15. The secretary receiving fruits or berries must 
give each grower a receipt for the number of crates of 
fruits or berries delivered designating the number of 
crates of each grade. 

No. 16. All members obligate themselves to be gov- 
erned by the decision of the association in regard to the 
prices to be paid for picking fruits or berries, and they 
agree that they will not in any manner, directly or indi- 
rectly, such as by a gift, premium, or by counting more 
trays, baskets or quarts than has actually been received 
at the I3acking sheds, or through any member of the family, 
or any other individual, pay more than the price agreed 
upon by the association. The penalty for violation of this 
obligation shall be the withholding of thirty-five cents a 
crate for all berries and fifty cents a bushel for peaches 
received in violation of the above named by-law. All com- 
plaints shall be filed with the field inspectors who shall in- 
vestigate the matter and immediately report to the busi- 
ness committee, who shall act upon the matter promptly. 



ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 79 

and the funds accruing from fines shall be turned into the 
general treasury. A copy of this penalty clause shall be 
incorporated into the rules for the packing sheds. 

No. 17. The business committee shall have power to 
appoint a man as marshal if necessary, whose duty it 
shall be to see that each member shall be allowed to un- 
load his berries in the order in which he may come to the 
unloading place. He shall see that no one drives out of his 
regular turn. Any dispute between growers shall be set- 
tled by the marshal. Any grower who shall refuse to abide 
by the decision of the marshal shall forfeit his place and 
go back behind every wagon present. 

No. 18. The president shall, at the regular meeting in 
June of each year, appoint the auditing committee, consist- 
ing of two members, whose duty it shall be to examine the 
books and accounts of the officers of the association and 
business committee and report in writing at the regular 
meeting held in July following. The auditing committee 
shall each receive two dollars per day as compensation for 
the time required to examine the books and accounts sub- 
mitted to them. 

No. 19. On any motion the vote shall be yea or nay 
xinless some member shall request the vote being taken 
by ballot; and upon such request being made, the presi- 
dent shall appoint two tellers to take the ballots ; and when 
the voting is by ballot every member present shall vote un- 
less he is excused by the president, provided he is entitled 
to a vote. Any voter refusing to vote, who has not been 
excused by the president, shall forfeit to the association 
fifty cents. A voter shall be a member in good standing. 

No. 20. Any member who shall be in arrears for dues 
three months shall forfeit his or her vote and all benefits 
of the association and when six months in arrears shall 
stand suspended from the association. 

No. 21. Any member who shall have been proved 
guilty of fraud or immoral conduct, or failed to meet his 
just obligations, or of any other act so as to affect the credit 
and good standing of the association shall be barred from 
membership. 

No. 22. All members must acquaint themselves witli the 
constitution and by-laws and annex their names thereto. 



80 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

No. 23. These by-laws may be amended in accordance 
with Article 9 of the constitution. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS 

1. Calling House to Order. 

2. Calling Roll of Members. 

3. Reading Minutes of Previous Meeting. 

4. Reading Correspondence. 

5. Reports of Committees. 

6. Election of Officers. 

7. Applications for Membership. 

8. Balloting on Applications. 

9. Unfinished Business. 

10. Bills and Accounts Read and Disposed of. 

11. New Business. 

12. Discussion. 



I 



CHAPTER IX 



QUALITY VS. QUANTITY 

The world generally has come to recognize the fact that in the long 
run it is quality and not quantity that counts. 

This truth is becoming better known and more fully realized every day 
by all branches of the produce trade. It frequently occurs that a small 
select lot of fruits or produce sells for more than a whole cargo of rub- 
bish will bring. I infer a sufficient number of shippers and dealers have 
tasted the benefits of proper selection and correct grading or packing 
to make any argument unnecessary to show that it pays to strive for a 
standard that will be so good as to be almost without competition when 
it comes to marketing. 

Of course, if the theory of quality is carried to the extreme it means a 
limited amount of goods at high prices. For example, if all the onions 
in the country were put into one packing house and graded, putting only 
strictly uniform Al stock together there would be less onions in the Al 
class than we would suppose, but it cannot be denied that strictly Al 
prices could be obtained for them and once the pack or brand became 
known it would sell itself for all time to come at a premium so long as 
the quality might be kept up. 

Ample proof that this theory is correct is found in the history of the 
apple deal in the far northwest. The way quality is emphasized in pre- 
paring Oregon and Washington apples for market seems funny to an out- 
sider who is so ignorant as to assume that "apples are apples" no matter 
how they are put up. But when we go into the matter for a closer 
investigation we find that while all apples are apples, there is a great 
difference in price that makes off-grade stock seem like so much chaff 
compared with the scientific, superb pack of apples put up in the North- 
western states, and which bring the highest prices in both American 
and European markets. By way of courtesy to growers of apples in 
Idaho^ Montana, Colorado, California and New Mexico, I should say 

81 



82 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

these people are also careful in their pack, although they have not reached 
the high degree of skill to be found in Oregon and Washington where the 
theory and practice of correct apple growing and packing has doubtless 
approached about as near perfection as our civilization has seen or will 
ever see. 

What applies to apples also holds true of almost every commodity in 
the produce field so far as the premium for quality is concerned. It 
seems there is no getting enough of the best in some kinds of stock. Buy- 
ers often take everything in sight at high prices and are often found 
looking for more. In the larger cities where there are enormous lines 
of goods, the select stock shows up to far better advantage when com- 
pared with off-grade, inferior stuff. Where lots of goods are available 
it naturally follows that more accurate comparison can be made. Often 
when berries are at their height it is surprising to see how buyers will 
snap up fancy cases at a premium and leave off-grade stock untouched 
although it is offered at bargain counter rates. 

Probably the best explanation for this is that there is enough high 
class trade to justify paying a good premium. But because more money 
is paid for fine stock is no reason why such stock is more expensive, for 
the inferior stock may be dear at any price, however cheap it may seem. 
A steadily increasing and certainly a major part of humanity is learning 
the great secret that the first or initial cost of any article amounts to 
little so long as the article bought will give entire satisfaction and will 
yield whatever service may be reasonably required. In other words, 
that it is actually worth the money paid for it. 

Aside from his ability to realize more spot cash for his produce if its 
quality is the best, the grower or shipper will find it worth his while from 
an advertising standpoint to put up the right kind of pack and establish 
his brands or marks. Everybody in the trade knows that certain brands 
of certain articles are always in demand at good prices. 

A good thing is not usually overlooked or forgotten by people. If your 
fruits or produce possess fine quality and make money for wholesaler, 
jobber and retailer, you can rest assured your pack or your stock will be 
sought after so long as it continues to have the merit that makes money. 

Right here I want to emphasize the absolute necessity of keeping 
brands and marks up to the standard claimed for them. It does little 
good to work up a good brand that represents the best quality and then 
substitute stock of poorer quality and expect the brand to get the price. 
A label is a good thing, but it has its limitations. Fine feathers do not 
make fine birds, nor do catchy marks and brands supply quality in the 
contents of a package to which the aforesaid fancy labels may be affixed. 



QUALITY VS. QUANTITY 83 

But a good label is a great help in handling good produce of all kinds, 
and especiallj' where a considerable quantity is to be had year after year. 
I am aware that it is a difficult undertaking to have a mark or brand, 
or even a grade for every article handled, but so far as possible an effort 
should be made to grade all kinds of fruits, and produce and if properly 
done the results will be sur})rising. A good brand well established is 
worth a fortune in itself. 

Of course, the range in the make-up of brands and marks is capable 
of infinite variety. They may take their name and stjde of make-up from 
the commodity they cover, or from the section where produced, or maybe 
from the name of the individual or firm that does the growing, packing 
or selling. Many good brands are taken from catchy everyday names, 
which have the great advantage of being short and easily remembered, 
while others are based on various suitable things. It goes without say- 
ing that a brand or mark should be considered chiefly from the stand- 
point of an advertisement, and like all advertising, it should be concise 
and aim to tell the truth. 

By selecting the proper brand or mark for your goods you should have 
in mind that you are advertising your goods, yourself, your section, your 
market and your trade. Good printing and the use of proper colors are 
aljo important if the best results are to be hoped for. 

I am fully convinced that in the future we shall see more thinking done 
and more care exercised among fruit and produce people in the matter 
of grading, packing, labeling or branding and also to that "steering wheel 
of commerce," — advertising. In a later chapter I shall have considerable 
to say about grading and packing, and shall, therefore, refrain from touch- 
ing on details in this connection, though proper grading and packing are 
the parents of quality. 

A long stride in the direction of securing better quality in fruits and 
produce would be made if growers and shippers would only reflect that 
fancy prices cannot be had for certain goods just because they were sent 
to market by certain people. By this I mean to say, John Smith cannot 
look for his peaches to sell for top prices for no other reason than they 
were grown in his orchard. 

Unfortunately, there are lots of people who are so contracted in their 
range of reason as to believe their products are best because they grew 
them, and do not stop to think that other people have a right to claim 
the same thing. If the average grower could only go into one of the 
larger markets throughout the country and see fruits and produce com- 
ing from different sections, and observe the range in prices for quality 
it would be a great help to the trade generally. If some scheme could 



84 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

be devised to enlighten shippers and growers in this respect there would 
be less trouble with undergrade and off-grade shipments. 

It is costly experience for many people to find out that it does not 
pay to mix up shipments indiscriminately. Now and then shippers are 
misled by commission men who send out reports to the effect that the 
market is in fine shape and who advise shipping "everything in sight." 
The market may be, and usually is, in fine shape for all the fine goods 
that can be had, but it usually is the inferior rubbish that demoralizes 
prices and ruins the sale even among the better grades of goods. 

Growers should never allow the enthusiasm of an unscrupulous or care- 
less dealer to run away with their better judgment and cause them to 
load up a cargo of good, bad and indifferent stuff and send it along to 
market only to be sold for charges or sent to the dump. If a little horse 
sense is used the poor stuff will be kept at home, and the medium grades 
will be separated from the finest and so arranged that they can be han- 
dled intelligently, and a premium can be had for the best stock. 

This same argument holds true if goods are being consigned or sold at 
shipping stations. In either event it is a matter of dollars and cents 
to the grower and shipper to use caution in dividing up his fruits and 
produce so that he and all the rest of mankind can tell the difference 
in their* quality and can establish a difference in price on the basis of 
difference in quality. 

Growers and shippers everywhere should make a study of trade re- 
quirements and seek to satisfy them. By no means should they aim to 
gauge the popular demand by their own views and tastes. For in- 
stance, an apple man in New York state may prefer Greenings or light 
colored apples, but as a general thing he finds a Baldwin or a King is 
preferred by the soutliern trade mainly because the last named varieties 
are red. It is needless to go into the why and the wherefore of this 
or any other idiosyncrasy of commerce. When one is met and is ascer- 
tained to be true the next best thing is to yield to its requirements. 

In the southwest there are hundreds of people who wonder why the 
northern markets will not take yam potatoes. This very matter was 
once up before a meeting of a Texas association when someone sug- 
gested that a car of the juicy, candy-like yams be sent to Chicago and 
distributed among the people as a gift so they might see how fine these 
potatoes are from the growers' point of view. This suggestion ajipeared 
to meet with favor until an elderly grower arose and said, "Now, if those 
fool people would rather eat our old dry white potatoes I say grow and 
ship them the kind they want and will pay for." This suggestion was 
carried and was acted upon unanimously, for it was founded on that 



QUALITY VS. QUANTITY 85 

common sense principle that dictates selling people what they want and 
are willing to pay for. 

Life is too short and time is too precious in handling fruits and prod- 
uce to undertake much missionary work in changing the tastes of people 
or the requirements of markets. If a dealer or a market, for instance, 
wants potatoes sacked, by all means supply the demand; if a section 
wants berries in sixteen quart cases it is wise to use that style of pack- 
age if it is insisted upon ; if Boston wants a brown egg you will find it 
to your advantage to get that color on the eggs you ship there if you are 
an egg shipper and do business in that market. There are hundreds of 
these little whims that come up in the produce business and they are all 
worthy of serious consideration, for a fortune may depend on their proper 
observance. 

So much has been said and remains yet to be said about plain, every- 
day honesty as relates to produce matters that I was on the verge of 
omitting mention of it in this connection. But I cannot if I would. 
Unless a grower or shipper is honest himself he is unable to draw a clear 
distinction between what is good and what is not. Too often the grower 
seeks to deceive the trade with the goods he has to offer. 

Quality is based on honesty. It is a process of separating the gold 
from the dross. To arrive at a working basis for quality it is necessary 
to have some skill coupled with an honest purpose. General rules are 
about all that can be put on paper, and they are hardly worth while, for 
every individual shipper must work out his own system of producing 
quality in the kind of fruits or produce he has for sale, and if he has 
not the right kind no system will save him, for he is up against a bard 
proposition to make people buy even the best goods when they do not 
want them. 

Study the needs and wants of your markets and your trade and strive 
to supply them. Be intelligent, be honest, work hard and you will 
prosper, for these are the prerequijsites of quality in wliat you grow and 
ship. 

By all means remember that it is not how much, but how good that gets 
the best returns. There will always be an oversupply of the inferior 
grades of fruits and produce. Let others grow and ship the inferior 
kind ; you cannot afford to be put down with that class of growers and 
shippers if you are wide enough awake to get this book and read these 
pages and ponder over the subject as all sensible growers and shippers 
should. 

There is no monopol]^ in quality as there is no monopoly in ideas. 
If every grower and shipper would think constanth^ about how to im- 



S6 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

prove the quality of wliat he grows and ships Jiis net earnings would be 
increased considerably in the run of a lifetime, and if he should discover 
some new plan to get better quality and should build up a brand or a 
mark as a badge of honor for his products as he might easily do, he would 
leave his heirs a priceless heritage which would yield them a handsome 
revenue so long as they kept up the good quality in the same line of 
goods. 

Superior quality can only come from close attention to detail, but by 
thinking out carefully a proper system of growing, harvesting and pack- 
ing I believe it is much more easily secured than many people seem to 
believe. 



CHAPTER X 



PACKAGES 



Primarily all packages are intended for protection. In handling fruits 
and produce it is essential that more or less protection be given to dif- 
ferent articles, and usually the package is relied upon to provide this 
protection. 

But the theory of a package involves more than mere protection; it 
is also a means of attracting or repelling trade. One is often induced 
to buy an article of fruit or produce because it is put up in artistic 
fashion in an attractive package. 

The style of display has a far reaching influence in the successful 
handling of fruits and produce, and no one can convince the experienced 
dealer or shipper that this is not true. 

No phase of the produce business is more slow to change than that of 
packages and the reason is no doubt to be found in the convenience, safety 
and satisfaction of using established sizes, styles and measures which 
have been bought and sold among the trade "since the mind of man 
runneth not to the contrary." 

The ability to originate a new or improved package is a gift that few 
men in the trade possess. The produce business is one where customs 
and styles change slowly, just as styles and customs are adhered to gen- 
eration after generation among oriental peoples. Therefore, the kind of 
package one becomes used to one usually prefers to continue using until 
something better is discovered and brought into general use, and nearly 
everyone prefers that others always do the experimenting with a new 
style or kind of package. 

To be desirable a package must be as light as is consistent with the 
necessary strength to make it substantial for whatever purpose it is 
intended. Compactness and convenience in handling are also desirable 
features. But unfortunately, all packages we find used in handling fruits 
and produce do. not seem to have been selected with this aim in view. 

87 



88 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Some hulks and frames that come on the various markets appear to have 
been made in prehistoric times, and were never intended for handling 
more or less fragile and delicate articles such as most fruits, vegetables, 
etc. 

Packages ! They are without number and if one or two of every 
style, size, shape and color could be brought together under one roof it 
would be a sight worth travelling miles to see, and would no doubt be 
worth an admission fee of a dollar from everyone in the trade who 
devotes even a passing thought to the improvement of trade conditions. 

There are barrels, boxes, baskets, hampers, crates, cases, coops, kegs, 
tubs, drums, cartons, buckets, bags and so on ad infinitum in the scheme 
of packages and coverings used in handling the thousand and one different 
commodities in the realm of fruits and produce. 

Since many kinds of wood fulfill the two essentials of being light, and 
at the same time strong, it is quite natural that wood is largely used 
in the making of packages especially where a heavy or bulky commodity 
is to be handled. Other things being equal barrels, boxes and crates 
are given preference in most instances for outside packages as they are 
more easily handled than other kinds. But some articles can be bought 
and sold to best advantage in baskets while other kinds reqxiire coops, 
cases, etc. 

However, there is room for great improvement in the scheme of pack- 
ages now in use and I shall be surprised if some sweeping reforms are 
not made in the future with respect to certain packages at least. The higli 
prices prevailing for lumber and the growing scarcity of timber make one 
pause and wonder what changes will have to be made. Already there 
is often great difficulty in getting orders filled for certain kinds of pack- 
ages, and every year there seems to be more and more trouble to supply 
the trade with such packages as are needed. Here is a field for inventive 
talent and some fellow who may have the disposition and the ability can 
cover himself with immortal glory, as well as make a fortune, by work- 
ing out a scheme for a package that may be used for a number of articles 
and perhaps universally if varied slightly in its make-up. 

I submit that it is not a visionary idea to predict a new scheme in pack- 
ages for most kinds of produce, and we may be forced to work out some 
new plan to solve the aggravating problem that is becoming more acute 
as time goes on with an ever increasing volume of business and less pack- 
age material for use in supplying the needs of the trade. I am sure I 
have no suggestion to offer with respect to inventing a new universal 
package, but I mention the fact in all candor that there is a field in the 
realm of packages as yet unexplored. 



PACKAGES 89 

From time to time there has been a serious shortage in egg cases and 
egg case material and it is doubtful if the demand will ever be steadily 
supplied so long as the white wood veneer cases are used. The paper 
case is still in the experimental stage and if it proves to be a success there 
may be the same difficulty in procuring paper material before many 
years that we now find in securing enough wood to make veneer cases. 
On the other hand barrels and cooperage stock are no longer plentiful 
and prices will never be lower, say the men handling that line of goods. 
Box shooks are often almost as good as gold if they can be had. Num- 
bers of package factories are unable to take proper care of their trade, 
especially when there is an extra demand for a few weeks. 

I have no disposition to grow pessimistic on this or any other subject, 
but it seems clear that it is high time the fruit and produce trade is do- 
ing some serious thinking and planning, some concerted action to pro- 
vide against trouble in the future from a shortage in packages that will 
work a serious hardship on the country at large if no remedy is pro- 
vided beforehand. One thing is certain and that is the necessary pack- 
ages must be had somehow. If enough wood cannot be obtained a sub- 
stitute must be found in some way. 

The federal government is taking steps to preserve our scant remnants 
of forests that may have escaped the ravages of the lumberman's axe, 
and to restore as far as possible the primitive woods that have been 
ruthlessly cut out all over the continent. But the best results to be ex- 
pected from even heroic efforts by our Washington government are a 
mere bagatelle compared with the growing needs of the country. From 
whatever angle the problem is looked at it assumes an ugly aspect. Some 
people, I know, will be so smart as to suggest that I am crossing bridges 
before I reach them by talking on this subject as I am, but such people 
lose sight of the fact that only the foolish fail to plan and provide for 
the future. 

He is blind to facts who fails to see that the package problem is not 
one of the least that looms up on the produce horizon. It may be a few 
years reaching us but I feel it my duty to set up a warning here and fly 
the danger signal as I scan the approaching storm. I cannot ward off the 
winds but I can possibly warn the trade of their approach. Pardon me, 
I had not intended to convey the idea that I am a prophet or even a 
weather man, for I am not the original discoverer of the "package prob- 
lem" of the future. Level headed people have discussed the matter for 
several years and the subject has been one that has made conservative 
men worry before I had even given it a serious thought or discovered there 
is such a problem. 



90 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

The cheapness of a package is also one of the essential tests to which 
it must be subjected before it can be passed upon as being desirable. 
The cheap package, however, is not necessarily the best, for it may 
be a dear proposition although cheap. The best package is generally the 
cheapest in the long run. 

What constitutes the best package is, of course, subject to various in- 
terpretation, but ordinarily the best package is the one that is best cal- 
culated to protect goods in which they are shipped and at the same time 
permit them to be best displayed in order to bring their full market value 
when put on sale. A fine picture deserves a fine frame; so does good 
fruit or produce deserve a good package, for the package is to the latter 
what the frame is to the former. 

Specific rules are not easily formulated and there are so many ex- 
ceptions for different commodities in different localities that it is next 
kin to useless for one to go into the various details calling attention to 
good or bad points of certain kinds and styles of packages. However, 
I cannot refrain from saying that the sooner some packages are relegated 
to the scrap heap the better for the trade generally. The four basket 
crate with slanting sides for peaches is a bad idea and its use ought to 
be discarded. The six basket carrier or even the bushel or half bushel 
basket is preferable. Again, the second hand egg case is a nuisance un- 
less these cases are properly bound with iron straps so as to prevent loss 
from breakage. 

Shipping packing stock or roll butter in anytliing but good parchment 
lined, clean barrels is a costly mistake. It is downright cruel as well as 
bad judgment to crowd live fowls into a small coop that was never con- 
structed with a view to being comfortable for the birds it is made to 
hold. Some miserable traps for sliipping poultry should be discarded 
by passing some stringent laws if necessary or enforcing existing laws. 

Many shippers are too careless in using packages that are flimsy and 
are easily broken up or damaged by rough handling. Untold wealth is 
lost every year through bad judgment in selecting packages for sliipping 
early southern fruits and vegetables from the south to northern markets. 
Generally speaking all these packages should be stronger. They prob- 
ably would cost a bit more to make and for transportation, but there 
would be a great saving from rough handling which often ruins packages 
and contents. 

Above all things there should be no "snide" packages. If a package 
is called a bushel box, or a peck basket or a three bushel barrel it should 
be true to specifications. Dishonesty in packages as in other things, is 
unwise and will sooner or later make trouble. 



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PACKAGES 91 

Unfortunately our wliole systtiu of packages, like our system of weights 
and measures, is ch.iraclerized mainly for its lack of uniformity. There 
can be no doubt that a federal law fixing miiform weights and measures 
would be a great aid in bringing about needed reforms in all kinds of 
packages. 

Uniform packages insofar as possible are very much to be desired 
from every point of view, and while there are great difficulties to be over- 
come in regulating what the entire country shall use, at the same time 
a great many progressive growers and shippers are coming to see where 
the advantage lies. Pretty nearly all dealers are a unit in wishing for 
honest, uniform measures. 

But it is unlikely we shall get much nearer the ideal state of uniform 
packages so long as we have a majority of growers who seemingly want 
to try deluding others, and are in fact, deluding themselves. Snide pack- 
ages constitute an excellent boomerang, — they are designed to catch some- 
one and instead whip back to the one who starts them, for there is no 
question they are more expensive to the grower than to anyone else. 

Of late years we have seen a noticeable drift in the direction of putting 
up different kinds of fruits and produce in small enough units to be 
passed through wholesaler, jobber and retailer to the consumer without 
re-handling, and there is a lot of good sense in the plan. 

Usually a needless waste comes from handling and repacking. But- 
ter that is put up in pound prints at the creamery, California grapes in 
small baskets the consumer can take away in handy fashion, eggs in 
cartons from the country shipper, apples in small packages, melons in 
carriers, all help to stimulate trade as well as prevent needless waste. 

There are numerous little ideas in the field of packages that are yet 
to be discovered and made use of. As we go on and the need becomes 
more apparent for these improvements we shall no doubt have some 
surprises. The writer is firmly convinced we have much to learn before 
we can claim perfection in the adaptation or treatment of ideas in our 
common packages, and he hopes to see more interest shown in the general 
improvement of packages within the next few years. 

Possibly there is greater need for a good, all around bushel crate for 
harvesting, shipping and storing various fruits and vegetables than can 
be said of any other one kind of package. Such a package in a bushel 
crate has been worked out by Professor Ballon of the Ohio Experiment 
Station, and which he describes as follows: 

"The desirable features of a crate for holding or storing potatoes, 
apples or other produce are lightness, strength, compactness and con- 
venience in handling. If these points be combined in a style or form of 



92 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

package that will enable iis to store them away economically when empty 
— in the least possible space — we have pretty nearly the ideal crate. 
Personally I do not care for a "folding" crate. The number of parts and 
the cost of manufacturing are increased, and one is likely to find himself 
unwittingly infringing on some one's "patent." Besides, the folding 
feature is of no great advantage to the busy man, who has use for the 
crates nearly the whole year round. 

"A style of crates that anyone can build, and which may be stored away, 
three crates in the space of two, ought to be good enough for the most 
exacting. We are using such crates at the experiment station, and they 
give excellent service and satisfaction. They hold a full, rounded bushel, 
level full, and permit of a cover being nailed on, or of being racked up, 
one upon another, without crushing or bruising the contents. The cubic 
contents of such crates, dimensions for making which are given below, 
are about 2,700 cubic inches, while 2,688 cubic inches constitute a legal 
or U. S. rounded bushel. 

"The crates are made entirely of light strips of wood — no solid ends, 
sides or bottoms being used. Material, exact measure: Uprights or cor- 
ner posts — length, 121/2 inches, width 2 inches; thickness, l/o inch. 
Ends, 181/2 inches by 2 by % inch. Sides and bottom, 16% inches by 
2 by % inch. 

This makes a crate leyg inches long, 13% inches wide and 12% inches 
high, outside measure, and the pieces are easily assembled. These crates 
can be "nested" — three in the space of two." 



CHAPTER XI 



GRADING AND PACKING 

No subject before the produce public is more important than that of 
promoting the cause of better grading and packing of fruits and vege- 
tables, and in fact, all kinds of produce articles down to roots, junk, bot- 
tles, bones and rags, if I may be permitted to include some of the latter 
within legitimate produce lines. 

In foregoing chapters intimations have been already given of the neces- 
sity of making the best appearances with produce when it goes to mar- 
ket to be sold. Right here I want to say candidly that I regard proper 
grading and packing fully fifty per cent of the marketing end of the 
produce deal, at least, so far as the grower and shipper are concerned. 

The subject is one that has already received much attention all over 
the country and is destined to be heard of more and more as all branches 
of the trade are fully awakened to the vital importance of the subject. 

Grading and packing is at once a science and an art. The field can 
never be exhausted as there are infinite possibilities for improvement in 
the preparation of nearly every commodity for marketing. In a large 
measure the size, style and kind of package to be used for a given article 
places limitations on the grading and packing. Certain arbitrary changes 
may be forced from time to time in packing on account of scarcity in 
some kinds of packages. But there is room for expert knowledge and 
careful study to make the best of whatever materials are to be had. 
Scarcity of package materials may cause far reaching changes in the 
present methods of putting up fruits, etc. Therefore, the question of 
packages is intimately related to the matter of grading and packing. 

However that may be we shall always see a premium paid for the best 
pack, and there is great incentive for extra efforts to grade more carefully 
and pack better all along the line. It is no longer a question of choice 
but a matter of necessity for associations and individuals to emphasize 
correct, up-to-date grading and packing if they are to reap the full meas- 

93 



PI PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETIXG 

lire of .success so much desired by all. Instances have already been cited 
to show what results are obtained by apple growers in the northwest by 
going to extra pains in putting out the best kind of fruit. 

Exani})les could be nuiltiplied from other sections covering other arti- 
cles, but the facts are being brought home to the careless grower every 
day and the cold logic of dollars and cents are the mute witnesses that 
bear effective testimony that the right kind of grading and packing is 
worth while and about the only kind that is worth while. There is little 
or no sentiment in the dollar, and produce that sells for the most money 
must have some qualifications not found in other kinds that bring less 
money. Isn't this perfectly clear.'' 

Perhaps no better example of what can be accomplished by proper 
grading and packing is to be found than that of cantaloupes. A few 
years ago the possibilities in handling these melons were hardlj'^ dreamed 
of by the trade at large. The great distance that California, Arizona 
and Colorado melons had to be shipped to market in the larger cities and 
the high transportation charges to be figured on made it necessary to 
handle only good stock. This caused a close grade for quality, and dic- 
tated a pack that would allow the melons to go a long distance and reach 
destination in merchantable shape. Good prices were easily obtained for 
the right kind of stock and the quality was maintained which made a 
reputation for the cantaloupe, and whicli has been the foundation for sev- 
eral considerable fortunes. The handling of cantaloupes has now be- 
come a well developed specialty that engages some of the best talent in 
the trade, and those who were disposed to sneer at these gems when the 
field was being developed are now compelled to take off their hats to the 
lasting monument to correct grading and packing. Without the rigid 
grading system used in marketing these melons the big industry would 
have been utterly impossible. 

The palm must be yielded to the far west for the earliest and best grad- 
ing and packing of produce after scientific and artistic methods. In 
fact, people in coast territory originated many of the styles and ideas 
now in vogue, and have displayed good judgment in most of their ideas. 

While there are some modifications and improvements the original 
bases and schemes are still about the same. The system of sizes of citrus 
fruits in boxes of certain dimensions is about the most clever device 
imaginable, .and has been reduced to such mathematical precision that it 
is difficult to suggest further improvements. In these packages there is 
uniformity, neatness and evidence of quality tliroughout that always 
secures favorable consideration among the trade and also from the great 
consuming public which gives rise to an annual traffic of 25,000 to 30,- 



GRADING AND PACKING 95 

000 cars which amounts to a sum of money that is colossal for the fruit 
business, which the average person out of the trade is too apt to think is 
a kind of corner peanut stand proposition. 

I might add that most deciduous fruits from the far west are generally 
handled with the same painstaking care as applies to citrus fruits. 
Plums, grapes, cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, apples, etc., are graded 
closely and are nearly always what the grade implies, and so far as 
quality goes the fruit is grown as good as the soil, the climate and expert 
attention will produce. 

No doubt the long season of equable temperature in the far west has 
much to do with the uniform fruit to be found there, for it is generally 
uniform in size, color, taste, carrying quality, etc. The dry climate of 
Colorado is a great advantage in growing peaches that can be kept for 
a much longer time than those peaches grown where rainfall is irregular 
and often excessive at the wrong time for getting best results in the 
quality of fruit. And what is true of peaches is also true of other fruits 
of nearly all kinds grown in the inter-mountain country. 

But where there are not such advantages in the way of climatic condi- 
tions as are found in the far west, and where fruit growing is a less 
certain business, there is all the more argument in favor of careful at- 
tention to the subject of grading and packing. It should not require a 
genius to realize that proper grading only means getting together all 
fruit of uniform quality, color and size, and anyone of a little experience 
who has two eyes and who is honest should be able to throw out the 
inferior fruit from what he ships if he is unable to evolve a perfect sys- 
tem of points upon which to base classes or grades. Packing usually 
proceeds after fixed styles that vary widely for different articles. How- 
ever, a package may conform to regular styles and still be dishonest. 

The fact that many Eastern apple growers have been known of old to 
put fruit about like this 

oooooooooo 

on top of their barrels, and at the bottom in order to face off the pack- 
age, and to fill in between with stock about like this 
o o o o o 

has caused some folks to suppose the grower who follows such practices 
is more interested in catching a sucker in some apple buyer than he is in 
making his ]>ack a good advertisement for himself and a money maker 
for liis j)urcliaser. 

I regret to say there are too many cases wlierc growers aim to deceive 
by tlieir pack; to lie by action if not by word, and secure good American 
money with no fly specks on it for stock worth about half what is paid 



96 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

for it if judged by proper standards of grading and packing which should 
rest on common, everyday honesty. Such tactics have caused "farmers' 
pack" to come to have a negative meaning among dealers. 

If growers and shippers generally would stop to think that in the end 
it is pennywise and pound foolish to try these tactics they would all 
abandon such business and try to get on a correct system that would 
yield them just as much, if not more money, by getting the premium 
on quality and not by trying to flim-flam somebody with a faulty, dis- 
honest pack. In other words, they should look for revenue from a quali- 
tative and not from a quantitative standpoint. The fact that the poor 
fruit in a package usually sells it instead of the good fruit is the main 
thing to remember about the importance of offering good stock only. 

Considerable has been said about the Fruit Marks act which is now 
in operation all over the Dominion of Canada, and many people in 
the trade throughout the states are of the opinion that some such law 
should be put into operation in the United States. 

It would no doubt be a capital plan to require so far as possible every 
fruit and vegetable grower and shipper to have a stamp bearing his name 
or registered number which should be put on every package he sells or 
sends on the market to be sold, and have certain grades or classes and 
require every grower or shipper to declare by means of a mark on the 
package, or otherwise, just what is the quality of the contents of the 
package and what quantity it contains. 

A rigid federal regulation may be necessary to make some tricky 
growers and shippers quit using "snide" measures, and abandon the dis- 
graceful practice of putting rubbish in the bottom or middle of a package 
and a covering of good stock on top, bottom or outside, so as to mislead 
people in and out of the trade who have become sick and tired of such 
trickery and dishonesty. 

In view of the sweeping reforms we have seen in federal and state 
laws the last few years it need cause little surprise if some general law 
of this kind is passed before many years, for the matter has been agitated 
and there are hundreds and hundreds of honest growers and shippers who 
want to see the morals of the trade upheld and elevated, and who would 
support heartily such a measure and would see that it is properly en- 
forced if passed by Congress or uniformly by the various states. No 
single state or collection of states less than the whole union can deal 
effectively with such legislation, for the produce business is so largely 
interstate traffic that state laws alone would be of little avail to accom- 
plish the necessary ends unless uniform action is to be had similar to the 
pure food laws. 



GRADING AND PACKING 97 

No doubt much of the unsatisfactory packing found in all lines of 
fruits and produce arises from sheer ignorance — honest ignorance — I 
might say, for there are many growers who seem to have a very slight 
conception of what correct grading and packing means. 

For such there should be ample instruction. But for those who persist 
in questionable practices some penalty should be provided and enforced. 
Those who raise and ship any kind of produce should make a close 
study of the best plan for putting up goods in attractive shape, and 
what packages and what grades are wanted in various markets and for 
the different classes of buyers. Most dealers will be glad to give in- 
formation and help shippers to make improvements in their packs and 
grades, since dealers have a joint interest with growers and shippers in 
such matters. Much progress has already been secured in this way, es- 
pecially in new producing sections. 

One great difficulty in packing has been that too much haste is made to 
get shipments ready, and stuff is often thrown about and crammed into 
the packages the quickest way possible. This is all wrong. It is usually 
better that a shipment be delayed than have it go forward in a slip-shod 
fashion that will ruin the prospect of its selling for best available prices. 
Transportation costs just as much for poor stuff as for the best; therefore, 
it is making money to take a little more time and ship better stuff by 
fixing a better pack. 

I am fully alive to the fact that it is not always possible to grade 
closely all kinds of produce at initial points, for proper facilities cannot 
always be had for grading such a commodity as eggs, and perhaps a few 
others. But I submit that as a general proposition the trade would make, 
or better save, hundreds of thousands of dollars every season by exer- 
cising more care in grading and packing from the first places where all 
kinds of produce originate in commercial quantities. If only the better 
class of stock is shipped and the rubbish is left behind there would 
be a great sum saved in transportation that is annually paid out for 
shipments that go in whole or in part to the dump after reaching 
destination. 

By all means the question of proper grading should be studied care- 
fully by every shipper. New ideas will suggest themselves from time 
to time and much money can be made by strenuous thinking on new and 
better plans for grades and packs. 



CHAPTER XII 



WHERE IS YOUR MARKET? 

In raising the question indicated by the caption of this chapter I hope 
it will be clearly understood that I have in mind principally the matter 
of net results, for no market is worth while unless it makes a profit for 
a shipper not so much on one shipment, but for a season, as we must bear 
in mind it is the average that must be figured on to reach a fair idea of 
profits or losses. 

Although distance is easily a factor that must always be taken into 
consideration in deciding what is your best market it is by no means true 
that distance is the bar it used to be in past years when the stage coach 
was in operation, or even since railroads and steamship lines have been 
brought to a state of semi-perfection when the continent can be crossed 
in three or four days, and when the subtle electric flash goes from coast 
to coast in a breath. 

It has been truly said modern inventions have well nigh annihilated 
time and space. The effect is quite evident in handling fruits and prod- 
uce when it is not infrequent in some of the larger markets to see ship- 
ments offered for sale alongside one another from nearly every state in 
the union, and perhaps half a dozen foreign countries. 

Conditions nowadays make it possible almost to do miracles in the way 
of handling all kinds of produce. Many cars of various commodities are 
loaded every day and set rolling with no particular destination in view. 
Sometimes they may have to be held up at a junction point or even at 
a terminal for orders, but usually there are diversion orders given the 
railroad companies on cars billed to "our order," and it is truly mar- 
velous with what despatch these diversions can be handled. It is not 
with a view to throwing any bouquet at the transportation lines that I 
refer to these "miracles of shipping," for I shall not agree that tlie semi- 
perfect condition of transportation is not due as largely to the business 
men of the country as to the transportation jieople who are themselves 

98 



WHERE IS YOUR MARKET? 99 

supposed to be business men, but who are often only snobs and petty 
autocrats so far as the law allows or conditions justify. 

It cannot be successfully refuted that many conveniences and improve- 
ments in transportation have been put in or made at the insistent demands 
of the business public. And these are some of the very things for which 
the transportation people try to take the most credit ; it occurs to me that 
the man who is good only when under duress is entitled to few rewards 
for his piety. 

Therefore, the shipping facilities today for which the transportation 
})eople are not wholly responsible, make distance cut comparatively little 
figure in the produce business. This is especially true of high priced 
stuff. 

It would seem incredible that freezers of strawberries from Florida 
could be shipped by express at an exhorbitant rate and move to northern 
markets at a profit. To speak of shipping car lots of cantaloupes across 
the continent by express would have been quite enough to disconcert a 
mollycoddle in the produce business some years ago. But this very 
thing is done every season, thus finding a market at a great distance, but 
no doubt the logical market. 

Australian butter has to move quite half way around the globe to 
reach the United States, yet when conditions are right it is no trick at 
all to handle the deal, as it matters little whether we ship by land or 
water so long as we reach the market we should and at the right time. 

Now every dealer believes or should believe that he has the "best" 
market in the country. The reason I say he should believe his market is 
the best is also the chief reason he has for declaring his house is the 
"best," — indeed, it is the most plausible excuse one can have for being 
in business, and once a fellow is in the deal, planted firmly on this con- 
viction with reasonable capital and tolerable morals, he may be a bad 
proposition as a competitor even for the big houses to tackle, although 
the aforesaid inflated peewee may reside at some "jay town" that hardly 
has its name in the geography and not even have a Carnegie library. It 
is all in the system, — this produce game. The commodity being handled 
has a wide influence on the system, it is true, but given the right com- 
modity into the hands of the right man and it is a combination hard to 
beat. Things liappcn ever so often tliat seem astounding. 

Markets can be used that look to be clear out of bounds. Tlie fellow 
wlio knows every detail of his line can do wonders witli it, or rather 
make it do wonders, for his hand need hardly be seen once his system- 
gets under way. 

It is especially true of the car lot shipments that they can go almost 



100 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

anywhere. Staples like apples, potatoes, onions, cabbage, cranberries, 
poultry, butter, eggs, cheese, etc. can be placed in any one of a hundred 
different markets when conditions are favorable. Generally such goods 
are handled on a price f.o.b., or else the transportation charges are added 
and a delivered price is made, with draft attached to bill of lading. 

It is with the small shipments that there is most room for worry about 
where the right market is. Although transportation does not prevent 
shipping long distances when conditions are right, yet the high trans- 
poration charges are much higher still on less than car lot shipments, 
and unless there is some plan to combine shipments of different ship- 
pers and get the reduced car lot rate, the charges often preclude reach- 
ing markets where the rate is above a certain figure which is the limit 
the article will stand without selling for "charges" at destination, or 
else lose money in some other way. 

In order to determine where your market is you must study all the 
markets. Here is where the association has very great advantage over 
the individual shipper, for the association composed of fifty or a hun- 
dred shippers can have one man cover the entire situation, and even if all 
wires and other expenses are paid for every day by the association, the 
information obtained is nominal in cost when prorated among the whole 
membership. And to be able to ship intelligently such information must 
be had daily, almost hourly, to know which are the proper markets to 
use. 

But the little shipper who is stuck off in a cross roads town, who be- 
longs to no association and has no opportunity to co-operate with others 
has to knit his brow to find his best outlet, and like many others, he 
probably allows someone who has not his best interest at heart to do his 
thinking for him. It is well for the shipper to rely on his commission 
man if he is getting proper treatment, but if the shipper finds some other 
market that yields him better returns, it takes something more than claims 
of the "best market" to hold him from making a quick change. 

But it is dangerous for shippers to conclude too quickly they have 
struck it rich when they send one or two shipments to a house in a new 
market, for there can be no telling what the next few shipments will do 
as we have already seen why the first returns are often padded out for 
the purpose of securing heavier shipments later, which are made to stand 
the loss of the bait sent along with the first returns. It is the average 
of the season and not a single shipment that makes a market or a house 
worth while. Lots of shippers have trouble getting a correct view of this 
proposition. 

For example: A shipment of five barrels of apples may sell for $2, 




So 






WHERE IS YOUR MARKET? 101 

$1.75, $1.50, $1.25 and $1 which is only $1.50 per barrel for them all. 
If two barrels did sell over the average price, there were enough sold 
at and under the average to cut it down to a figure where some other 
market might have better had the shipment. 

This average, of course, applies to only one sale. The season's aver- 
age is far more intricate and important. We have all seen prices slowly 
drop from early in the season to the close when it almost takes a spy 
glass to see a profit at the wind up. Some cases where houses start in 
low they keep getting about the same prices, and when they wind up 
their shippers have a better average price than others who began the 
game with a rainbow account of sales and a hand painted check. By 
no means can the result of one or two shipments be conclusive evidence 
as to the goodness or the badness of a market, nor can the first sales 
be taken as a criterion for what will happen in the future. It stands 
to reason, of course, that when one shipment brings a good price, the 
next one will also likely produce the same result. But this is one of the 
illusions that the produce crook uses to coin money, and there is ample 
proof that the scheme has been successful again and again when operated 
properly. 

One important thing in selecting a market is to connect with a good 
house. How best to do this I shall take up for later treatment. But 
it is a fact that a good house in a bad market is better than a bad house 
in a good market so far as the shipper is concerned. 

Generally speaking a good distributing point whether in a large or a 
small town is a good market for handling a wholesale or jobbing busi- 
ness. But the larger cities are naturally better centers for consuming 
purposes. If labor conditions are good and people are prosperous it is 
next kin to impossible for the larger markets to be over loaded more than 
a few days at any one time with choice produce. 

Some shippers who have made a superficial survey of conditions and 
people take the position that their market is at their shipping stations and 
they will sell for cash only and must have the money or a bank guarantee 
that the consignee will protect shipper's draft, which is equivalent to cash. 
After all, the question of selling or consigning is a broad one and de- 
serves treatment more fully in a separate chapter. But this much can 
be said: there are times when it is best to use both systems if used 
intelligently. Some shipments no doubt show best returns on a legitimate 
consignment basis. 

No set of rules can be put down on paper to determine what market is 
best for this or that commodity, or when it is best to sell or consign. Con- 
ditions may change over night that make a good market today a bad 



102 PRODUCE MARKETS AND JVIARKETING 

one for tomorrow and vice versa. It requires careful study to keep up 
with the game, and no one is so wise as to be absolutely sure what will 
turn up tomorrow. 

But if one is fairly intelligent he can easily get a line on things, and 
with a little experience can draw correct conclusions quickly, — can cash 
his judgment for so much bullion when he hits things right. Still no one 
learns all the ropes in a life time and some men who have grown gray 
headed in the business have come to find out some things late in life 
that almost make them weep to realize what they have lost for not 
knowing them sooner. 

Information is one of the prime essentials in arriving at what markets 
it is best to use. Your best market may, therefore, be a thousand miles 
away or it may be at your own packing shed, or in your orchard or on 
track at your station. 

Let me repeat : the question can hardly be studied too thoroughly, for it 
means a substantial reward for him that knows that he knows what he is 
doing when he makes a shipment. Those who make a practice of shoot- 
ing into the dark with a blunderbuss, as it were, by consigning to Tom, 
Dick and Harry in any and every market will find enough trouble after 
shipping if they are not disposed to give themselves a little trouble to 
be sure of their ground before shipping indiscriminately. Again, the 
fellow who refuses to consign and sits down waiting for buyers may 
lose a golden opportunity by so doing. 

Under all circumstances, your best market is the one that yields the 
best average profit. But it often requires some higher mathematics to 
know anything definite about various markets until you have tried 
them out. 



CHAPTER XIII 



SELL OR CONSIGN? 



Sentiment among growers and shippers appears to be hopelessly di- 
vided on the question whether it is best to sell or consign and to set up 
any certain arbitrary rule to follow is a difficult if not an impossible task. 

There are extremists on this subject as is true of nearly every similar 
question that has agitated the mind of man from the earliest times. But 
the question is still unsettled and it will perhaps continue to rest in that 
state indefinitely, for its proper solution depends on so many other prob- 
lems that no one can tell how the matter will be disposed of or what 
its ultimate outcome will be. 

It is true that many growers have -become prejudiced on this subject 
and have apparently allowed their prejudice to run away with their judg- 
ment to the detriment of their best interests. I suppose it is nobody's 
business when an association or an individual shipper makes a hard and 
fast rule to sell everything for cash f . o. b. or have a bank guarantee before 
shipping, or else let their fruit, vegetables, etc. rot in the fields or orchards. 
But it must be recognized as bad judgment to adopt such business policy 
which shows plainly the lack of confidence in all mankind which usually 
results from misunderstandings or downright ignorance. 

I am fully aware of the fact that many commission men have abused 
the confidence of growers and shippers and I have already said enough 
on this subject to indicate clearly what I think of the dishonest element 
among commission men, and I hope I have also stated clearly my views 
with respect to the dishonest element among shippers and associations. 
But it is wrong to draw any conclusion about the whole trade over the 
country, or about the merits or demerits of selling or consigning simply 
because a few isolated cases are taken and held up as frightful examples 
when there are thousands of cases that might be cited to prove the con- 
trary is true. 

Transactions in the aggregate must be looked at to form a sensible 

103 



104 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

opinion about the produce business just as it is necessarj' to perform a 
number of experiments or prove a number of facts to establish a uni- 
versal law or to arrive at a general truth, whether this truth relates to 
business, theology, mathematics, physics or what not. 

From a careful observation extending over a period of several years 
I must say that I have no preference whatever for one system of handling 
produce as against the other. There are occasions now and then when 
there is no reasonable doubt but it is preferable both to the grower, 
shipper and dealer to use the consignment basis in handling shipments 
of fruits and produce, while there are other occasions when it is no doubt 
best even from the dealer's standpoint to buy outright. 

When I speak of consigning I trust I will not be misunderstood, for I 
refer only to the responsible, respectable element that receives and sells 
shipments for the account of others, and I also, refer to the individual 
shipper and to the associations that take a reasonable amount of care 
in putting up stock and in using good judgment in its distribution. 

The receivers in the different markets are not altogether responsible 
for profits or losses from handling consignments, and while the average 
shipper or grower appears not to understand this fact, he would be 
less liable to find fault with the commission system when part of the 
fault so often lies with him more than it does with the man he may have 
have selected to represent him, or the market to which he ships. 

On behalf of the commission men I desire to say emphatically that 
there are hundreds of them in many markets who are entitled to the 
fullest confidence of growers, shippers and associations, — men who put 
in long hours of work for small pay considering the rewards other lines 
of business yield for similar service. As a general proposition I think 
it will be much better for everybody concerned if the commission men 
were allowed more money for their services as marketing agents. But 
I shall take up this matter for later treatment and prefer to waive further 
comment for the present. 

After all, the matter of selling or consigning is one that depends upon 
conditions that vary with the seasons and with different commodities. 
Whichever system yields the best profit is undoubtedly the best one to 
use. Some commodities have to be handled now and then on a con- 
signment basis because buyers cannot be found readily at shipping points. 
In such instances it is rather unreasonable to look for big profits when 
all markets are well supplied. Again, when markets are in good condi- 
tion and if the grower or association has a suitable connection they can 
get the advantage of higher prices by consigning, whereas if they sell 
upon the f. o. b. plan they can rest assured that the buyer has figured in 



SELL OR CONSIGN? 105 

transportation charges, has allowed for a depreciation in quality and 
has also figured his profit, which would necessarily be a fairly good one 
to warrant his investment. But in such cases where it is necessary to 
raise money immediately from the sale of produce, and a reasonable 
track offer can be secured it is no doubt the proper thing to sell if a 
fair price is paid. 

A typical case showing what can be done in handling some lines al- 
most exclusively on a consignment basis is found in one of the largest 
associations in the southwest whose officials say unhesitatingly that their 
best results are secured from the consignment system. Still other lines 
report best results from sales made f. o. b. or in transit. But the season, 
market conditions and connections have a great deal to do with the 
success or failure of either plan. 

- An instance showing how growers are sometimes blinded by preju- 
dice and sometimes make losses for themselves is brought out clearly 
in an association of strawberry shippers in a southern section who de- 
cided a year or two ago that they would sell everything f. o. b. on a 
strictly cash basis. 

But the buyers did not come as had been expected. A few lots of 
berries, whose quality was poor as usual, were sold to the first buyers, 
and as might be expected because of the unsatisfactory quality the buyers 
either lost money or broke even on their investment. They were in- 
different about taking more stock. Yet the growers insisted on sticking 
to their original plan and had several extra refrigerator cars put on a 
spur track and loaded with berries of better quality ; they shot out wires 
right and left to jobbers and dealers, but there were no responses at 
the prices asked, and the few buyers' representatives who had been on 
the ground had received instructions to proceed elsewhere ; the loaded 
cars were left on track unsold. The owners of these berries had made 
no preparation to consign their shipments and the fruit was left to 
rot, and quite a lot of it was actually dumped at the original loading 
station. Some of the growers felt disposed to modify their rule and 
prepared to send a few shipments forward to good firms in different 
markets to be handled for their account. But the express company re- 
fused to furnish them with any more cars, for their equipment was badly 
needed at other points from which shipments were being made daily 
and where there was no risk about having cars loaded and left on track 
several days only to have their contents dumped, and consequently bring 
no revenue to the owners of the equipment. Further losses were sus- 
tained among the growers, and the express company, together with the 
commission men, were accused of nearly every sin in the decalogue. The 
season wound up disastrously and instead of realizing even a small profit 



106 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

on the entire crop, most of the berries grown in this immediate locality 
went to waste, for it was only the local consumptive demand the growers 
had to depend upon. 

They were literally committing business suicide when they tied them- 
selves to a hard and fast rule against consigning, and before they could 
remedy their error and lay plans for connections the best part of their 
season was well over. 

Although their berries might easily have been used in different markets 
at a fair price if proper connections had been selected in advance and the 
berries had been put through at the right time, it was discovered later 
that it takes more or less time to work up a satisfactory outlet even on 
the right kind of commission deal. 

But there are some growers and associations who go on the theory 
that they will sell the best stock on track for cash and consign their 
rubbish, as they appear to believe they will realize nothing from their 
consignments anyway. 

Unless the right connections are worked up and the proper confidence 
is placed in these connections it is best perhaps not to consign anything. 
But when conditions so dictate, and consignments are properly placed 
they should, and usually do, make money for the shipper. 

During a season when supplies are abundant and buyers rarely show 
up at shipping points it is almost absolutely necessary to look for an 
outlet on a consignment basis. This has always been the case and prob- 
ably always will be. 

It is worthy of note that a large percentage of the world's food stuffs 
is handled on a commission basis at some stage of the game from pro- 
ducer to consumer, and I submit that a system which is of such long stand- 
ing and such universal application must have some good points in its 
favor. 

Naturally, the main difficulty on a consignment proposition is to get a 
square deal. Some shippers are so prejudiced and narrow minded that 
they incline to the opinion that there is no such person as an honest 
commission man. They appear to regard him somewhat like the child 
regards all stories when he comes to know about the fairies of which lie 
has been accustomed to read in the picture books. 

Many shippers have warped or extravagant notions about how fruits 
and produce are put through the great markets of the country, and some 
of them apparently have an idea that any kind of truck can be exchanged 
for its weight in gold or other precious metals, and that it is a simple thing 
to get rich if the proper police protection could be had to keep the 
commission men from robbing the shippers before they could get out of 
town if they were allowed to bring shipments in and sell them themselves. 



SELL OR CONSIGN? 107 

If such growers and shippers could spend a little time in the large 
markets seeing with their own eyes what is daily taking place I have no 
douht but they would revise their opinions about trade conditions gener- 
ally, and I think most of them would be fair minded enough to agree that 
the commission men, jobbers, brokers, etc. as a class are no worse, if no 
better, than the average run of people. 

That many sins must be answered for among receivers in the larger 
markets there can be no doubt, but I am confident many a firm has been 
accused of wrong doing when there was no reasonable grounds for accu- 
sation. On the other hand, there are many commission thieves who are 
not found out, but the same applies to any and every line of business 
as far as that goes. Let's not be so unfair as to condemn a system 
because it has a flaw or two here and there. 

Now, the question may be reasonably asked: If there are some who 
are not found out how can one be sure he is in safe hands when making 
consignments ? 

The only answer that can be made is that there is no absolute assur- 
ance, although reasonable certainty can usually be had. It only re- 
quires a little investigation at a nominal expense nowadays to find out 
who is who. There are good firms and individual dealers all over the 
country. The various commercial agencies, banks, transportation com- 
panies, trade papers, etc., constitute a reasonable source of information 
which can usually be relied on in selecting commission merchants in 
different markets. 

The question of the best market is frequently interwoven very closely 
with the question of consigning or selling, for both involve the matter of 
results as we have already seen. Those who are progressive enough to 
make a careful study and who are honest enough to admit the truth 
when it is found out, can evolve a proper solution of the question of sell- 
ing or consigning, even if it only applies for one season, one week or 
one day. Those who are contracted or ignorant or who have little con- 
fidence in themselves or in their fellow men will hardly obtain satis- 
factory results from either system, and I sup^jose little comment so far 
as their relations go will be worth while. 

In conclusion, I would say that those who find the consigning system 
the most profitable should stick to it. On the other hand, those who 
find f. o. b. sales productive of the best results should continue that 
method of marketing. 

But I feel sure those who are alive to their best interests will not 
despise either system when properly worked, for the fault is not in the 
system so much as with the individual, sometimes at one or the other 
end of the line and, I regret to say, sometimes at both ends. 



CHAPTER XIV 



AUCTIONS 



Owing to the fact that so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables 
are being sold at auction nowadays, it would not be out of place perhaps 
to have a few words with reference to this system of selling, and while 
I want it distinctly understood at the outset that I am not offering any 
arguments particularly in favor of the auction system or against it, I 
do think that some of the points in favor of the auction system of selling 
might well be included in this volume. 

Practically all fruits and vegetables imported into this country in 
quantities are sold through different auctions, usually at the port of 
entry. This is particularly true with reference to Italian lemons, Spanish 
onions, and a large part of the bananas brought into the larger sea-ports 
every season, while quite a respectable portion of various other kinds of 
fruits and vegetables also find their way into the hands of the jobbing 
trade through the auction channel. 

In the way of domestic fruits we have an enormous amount of deciduous 
fruits from the Pacific Coast which are sold through auctions in the 
various large markets, while quite a bit of citrus fruit from California 
and Florida is sold at auction in various large market centers every season. 
In Chicago, which is probably the largest distributing point in the 
country for deciduous fruits, the annual business now transacted runs from 
3,000 to 4,000 cars, and it is amazing with what speed these sales are 
conducted. One of the leading Chicago auctioneers has a record of sell- 
ing around 50 cars of deciduous fruits on one occasion in about two hours 
and a half. The same thing is taking place in a lesser degree in prac- 
tically all the other large market centers with reference to deciduous 
fruits during the late spring, summer and fall seasons. Most people 
engaged in the handling of deciduous fruits are decidedly in favor of 
the auction system of selling, and they seem to have reached their con- 
clusion from long experience in handling these shipments and getting 

108 



AUCTIONS 109 

them in the hands necessary to save time and expense in reaching the 
consumer. 

Those who are partial to the auction system of selling point out that 
quick action is one of the chief arguments in its favor. Of this there can 
be little doubt, because it is easy to see where so many more buyers are 
congregated at an auction sale it is much easier to arrive at some price 
and effect sales with little or no delay. 

Another feature pointed out with equal emphasis is that prices secured 
are always such as come near reflecting the actual value of the commodities 
being sold. Here again we must concede that there is something in the 
argument set forth, for the only way to establish an auction price is to 
put one bid against another. So long as no favoritism is shown by the 
auctioneer towards one buyer as compared with another, this fairness 
in the matter of reaching a price commensurate with existing market 
values must be conceded. 

Again, it is pointed out that the cost of selling through the auction 
plan is usually reduced to a minimimi, ranging generally two to four 
per cent where any considerable line of business is being handled. The 
fact that the auction people seem to find these commissions profitable 
goes without saying. On the other hand, it should be considered that 
they spend little or no money in getting their business and it generally 
happens they have an enormous line of stuff placed in their hands be- 
fore they make the low rate of commission for selling. 

Opinions vary widely as to the probable widest distribution afforded 
through the plan of auction selling as against private sale. Some people 
will argue until they are black in the face that the auction system ab- 
solutely secures the widest distribution possible, whereas there are others 
who apparently can advance just as plausible reasons to show that the 
private sale will secure a wider distribution than is possible through 
auction selling. Perhaps the commodity in question has a whole lot to 
do with which plan of selling is best for wide distribution as well as best 
prices. What may be true of one commodity may be quite different 
when it comes to some other so far as the method of selling and width of 
distribution are concerned. 

In the matter of haftdling Italian lemons it is altogether probable that 
under any other system than having these lemons sold through auction 
and having orders wired to brokers to buy, there would be fewer lemons 
sold and, in all probability, at lower prices. When a cargo is scheduled 
to arrive the broker, who is on the ground and who is supposed to have 
a fair working knowledge of the quality of the fruit expected, can 
promptly advise his clients scattered all over the country and in little 



110 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

or no time he is enabled to complete a transaction which would other- 
wise require a great deal of time and would bring the cost of the fruit 
so much higher to the consumer as to almost preclude anything like a 
general distribution throughout the country. And what applies to lemons 
may be said to apply also to other commodities among fruits and vege- 
tables which we import in quantities. 

Here and there we find examples of heavy lines of fruit such as peaches 
and early apples which are sold through auctions in the different markets 
with apparently very satisfactory results. As stated before, it is action 
which mainly attracts those who resort to the auction plan of selling. 
And there are times, of course, when action is imperative. Large lines of 
fruit which show ripeness and which must be disposed of promptly are ' 
often suitable for auction purposes where the purchases are to be rushed ' 
out immediately to be taken up by retailers or small buyers and hastened 
on in their last lap to the consumer. 

Among other things which might be argued in favor of auction selling 
where the commodity seems adapted to the plan is that usually consider- 
ably more advertising of brands can be had through the auction catalog, 
and by having the brands kept before the buyers in the sample lines 
of fruit displayed about the sales rooms. The very idea of selling at 
auction jDresupposes a brand under which the fruit is to be packed and 
sold. With a good brand covering a good pack, the advertising value of 
an auction sale is no small item in the scheme of marketing. 

One thing I do want to say in this connection, however, is that an 
auction, like anything else connected with the produce business, ought 
to be operated honestly and along strictly legitimate lines. The practice 
of doctoring samples M'hich happens here and there, and too often I 
might say, ought never to be practiced. The man, whether he be owner or 
marketing agent, who will doctor a sample and try to get somebody's 
good money by misrepresenting the quality of what he has to sell is 
provided for in preceding chapters in which I have had something to 
say about the right and the wrong of the produce business, at least, as 
I see it. It is hardly necessary for me to make the statement in so 
many words that a sample put up to show a line of fruit ought to run 
true to the entire line. In other words, it should reflect an average of 
quality and should indicate the real conditions which a buyer might 
reasonably expect the entire line to show after he had gone into the 
salesroom and agreed to put up his good money, with one hundred cents 
in every dollar, for it. 

And before leaving this subject I want to have just a word or two 
with regard to rebates which are frequently paid to brokers by the auc- 



AUCTIONS 111 

tion companies who have the sale of fruits. This is especially applicable 
to the brokers in New York City who buy the larger part of the foreign 
lemons sold in this country. It is a well-known fact that many of these 
brokers in the past have received rebates from the auction people or 
owners of the fruits, and this practice can hardly be defended on any 
grounds of legitimate trade. It is a species of graft pure and simple, 
but it is a question in my mind whether the dealers over the country who 
have been buying these lemons, and who are supposed to be aware of the 
real facts, will ever take enough interest in the matter to devise plans 
to stamp out the practice. 



CHAPTER XV 



ARE THE STORAGES A BANE OR A BLESSING? 

The advent of the cold storage some years ago with many later im- 
provements must be conceded as being the beginning of a new epoch in 
the business of handling fruits and produce. 

To be able to store a commodity for several months and to keep it 
under proper conditions so as to be well preserved, and in some cases 
actually improved in quality for being stored, is an advantage that must 
be apparent even to those who are not actually identified with the produce 
trade. 

As a general rule the public at large has little conception of the 
magnitude or importance of the cold storage business. In some quarters 
the people have erroneous opinions, and even sensible men who figure in 
our law making bodies are often guilty of some amazing mistakes with 
respect to the great storages where refrigeration and warehouse facili- 
ties are provided to take care of and discharge the important function of 
conserving such a large part of the nation's food stuffs every year. 

Without aiming at a jump into the middle of my subject, and without 
any intention of arriving hastily at a conclusion, I want to say that the 
cold storage industry is one among the great blessings that have been 
developed in the last half century for the welfare of the general public, 
and I have no hesitancy in saying further that the storages have done 
more good than harm, although I do not propose to shield them from 
some of their malpractices which may have been found to operate 
seriously to the disadvantage of the public and to the trade, and to the 
positive detriment of the storages themselves, for there is no doubt that 
a lot of the adverse criticism and the stringent legislation aimed of late 
at the storage industry lias come from abuses that should never have been 
allowed, and which should be corrected quickly and completely. 

It is because of so much criticism of this kind that I have raised the 
question set out in the caption of this chapter, and the answer already 

112 



ARE THE STORAGES A BANE OR A BLESSING? 113 

given will be fully understood before our survey of the subject is 
completed. 

Primarily, the function of refrigeration as applied to the fruit and 
produce field is to take care of commodities during a period of plenty 
and carry the surplus products which may be bought usually at lower 
prices during the producing season than afterwards in times of scarcity 
which follow the surplus period, at which later times storage goods are 
supposed to be taken out and sold. 

However, it does not always follow that storage goods will ever see 
a profit after they are put away, and painful to relate, sometimes the 
fellow who figures he has a gift of prophecy as well as a little ready 
cash, gets in wrong and loses some of his ready money as well as fails to 
reap some long profits in the way of speculation. 

Beyond controversy one of the worst influences to be charged against 
the storage industry is the stimulus it has given to speculation. In fact, 
the whole storage scheme is one of speculation just as the business of 
which it is an adjunct is largely a game of chance, as we have already 
seen. 

Nor do the storages promote speculation for the fun of gambling, 
but simply by virtue of doing business at all and furnishing the service 
they do. If speculation were ruled out the storage game would be a 
side issue, whereas with the proposition as now operated it is the fountain 
head of speculation and gives rise to more produce games of chance than 
one could count. A little calm reflection will emphasize the truthfulness 
of this statement. 

Without cold storages as now run the egg deal would be a joke during 
about half the year with extremely low prices during periods of the 
main producing season and extremely high prices in the winter when few 
fresh eggs are to be had. 

If there were no big storage warehouses capable of furnishing zero 
temperatures month after month, the butter deal would not be possible 
as we now have it, and a lot of fine creamery stock would almost cer- 
tainly go to waste every summer and the public would have little or no 
butter in the fall and winter. 

Other lines such as poultry, apples, cheese, game and various other 
articles would be on the market for only a short while compared with 
the present system which makes it possible to prolong the season for 
some articles indefinitely, and to equalize supply and demand so nicely 
as to cause little fluctuation, thus holding prices and values more nearly 
on a parity than would be possible under the old plan of throwing every- 
thing on the market at one time, causing a feast and then a famine. 



Ill PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

This is apparently in conflict with the statement that storages simulate 
speculation. But the facts are easily reconciled one with the other when 
we bear in mind that it is the service furnished by the storages that pre- 
serves and protects fruits and produce, and thus gives them a speculative 
aspect, for if they had to be used up all of a sudden it would offer little 
encouragement for speculating. This ought to be perfectly clear. 

Aside from acting as warehouses the storages sustain a dual function 
to the trade in negotiating loans which makes them a quasi banker for 
their patrons who may desire to obtain loans on goods stored. 

Most storages also engage in the insurance business and sell policies 
covering commodities stored, which policies are usually bought in large 
blocks of underwriters and cut up into smaller amounts to suit different 
customers. 

Perhaps no conclusive arguments can be offered against allowing the 
storages to perform the functions of banker and underwriter, but there 
are numerous cases where both functions have been abused to the in- 
jury of the general trade and to the disadvantage of the public. 

In the very nature of the case when a storage has become interested 
in a commodity stored with it by having negotiated a loan and having 
secured the value of the commodity with an insurance policy, it follows 
that a sort of property interest has been acquired that extends far be- 
yond the original function of a warehouseman, viz. : to furnish refrigera- 
tion and warehouse facilities necessary for the preservation and pro- 
tection of goods placed with the storage for a season, or a contracted 
period, at a fixed rate for which the actual goods may be and usually 
are held as security until all claims have been satisfied. 

Moreover, the storages are often called upon to act as a commission 
man or agent for the sale of goods for certain patrons who may have 
goods stored, and who may find it more convenient and satisfactory for 
the storage to look after selling the goods at the proper time than for 
the actual owner to attend to their sale. 

Altogether, these collateral functions the storages have assumed have 
given rise to that next logical function which makes the warehouseman a 
merchant who owns out and out the goods he stores and makes him a 
direct competitor of his patron who is buying and selling the same line 
of goods and who places goods in storage for safe keeping. 

It is true many storage men realize and admit that this merchandising 
is an extreme step, and be it. said to their credit there are a few storages 
that refrain from acting as bona fide merchants buying and selling on 
their own acount, at least, so long as it is possible for them to keep 
from so doing. Others are open and above board and buy and sell when 



ARE THE STORAGES A BANE OR A BLESSING? 115 

they feel disposed, and when they see a chance to make a dollar even 
if at the expense of a majority of their customers whose goods are affected 
in a large measure by the manipulations of the warehouses when they 
enter into the buying and selling end of the business. 

Frequently complaint is made, and rightly too, among the general 
trade against the merchandise practice of some of the storages, but it 
is difficult to find an effective remedy against the practice, for the charter 
of most of these institutions seems to be so broad as to permit of their 
doing pretty much as they please about buying and selling. Even if a 
strict law or set of regulations were enacted and enfoi'ced preventing 
storages from owning outright the products stored in their warehouses, 
it would be a comparatively easy matter to evade the intent of such laws, 
as some of the foxy warehousemen have already discovered that it is 
jjossible to take goods in under the name of someone else, but which are 
largely if not entirely the property of the warehouses themselves. 

Undoubtedly the prevailing sentiment among the trade is that the cold 
storage or wareliouse should not come into open competition with its 
patrons by the actual bu3nng and selling of goods. To such an extent 
do some people in the trade go in opposing this practice that they will 
not knowingly patronize a storage that does a merchandise business. At 
all events, when storing goods tliey give preference to such houses as 
refrain from doing a merchandise business. 

In the future some corrective measures may be worked out and en- 
forced that will confine the storages to their original functions. If such 
a measure can be found it will be hailed with joy by a majority of the 
trade, and would, I believe, help put the storages on a better business 
footing for the future. 

The storages cause enough speculation among the trade without be- 
coming speculators themselves, and there is a well founded opinion that 
the storage business of itself is a source of ample revenue when it has 
to do solely with furnishing proper refrigeration and safe warehouse 
facilities at a reasonable cost to patrons in the general trade. 

Still, the storage is not immune from losses and hard knocks when 
it does a speculative business just as is the case with the individual, as 
we have seen in a previous chapter. It may be that excessive specula- 
tion on the part of some greedy warehousemen will prove the right 
remedy for their merchandise deals, which is only another way of trying 
"to hog" everything in sight. 

In medicine there is an old axiom to the effect that like cures like. 
Maybe it would also apply to the storage business, for just as the doctors 
have to cope with insomnia, liver complaint and exaggerated ego, so 



116 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

do the cold storage warehouses have the same or very slightly modified 
ailments to plague them, especially when there is an over indulgence in 
speculation or when common sense rules are disregarded in trying to do 
business, as happens with warehousemen when they turn merchants. 
Quite a few of them know their numbers without my reading them out. 

It is not far to see that there are well defined limitations and liabilities-' 
to which storage warehouses are subject. 

No one who has gone over the subject carefull}', and who is in posi- 
tion to express an impartial opinion, can believe for a moment that it is 
not best that stringent, but sensible regulations be prescribed and en- 
forced to keep storage warehouses within certain bounds. 

Although during the last few years some impossible state and munici- 
pal laws have been attempted in different sections of the country which 
deserved the opposition of the storage men as well as the trade at large, 
still it remains that in nearly all cases where regulations even of a mild 
character are proposed it has been true that the warehousemen have 
opposed them. This attitude of the storages is certainly calculated to 
cause suspicion among people who know little of the real facts, and adds 
to the popular belief that the public would be better off without cold 
storages especially, and perhaps without common storages too, for the 
average man draws little distinction between the two. 

In addition to complying with certain requirements with respect to 
equipment, locations, etc. I feel sure that strict regulations should be 
established to fix a reasonable length of time different commodities shall 
be kept in storage under certain temperatures and conditions if they 
shall afterwards be offered for sale to be used for human food. This is 
too important to be left to haphazard, and rigid inspection rules should 
be established especially in all storage centers so as to condemn promptly 
all goods that have so deteriorated as to be unfit for food purposes. 

The reason I am talking plainly on this subject is because there have 
been so many grave abuses of privileges extended the storages in the 
past I shudder to think of their repetition or continuance, and unless 
some corrective measures are provided it is too much to expect them to 
cease, for the warehousemen are only human and I fear the instinct of 
most men in our day is to swerve too far from the public welfare when 
there is a sum of money at stake. 

I am fully convinced that it would also be a good plan to require all 
public warehouses to post in a conspicuous place in their houses a certi- 
fied schedule or list of their contents which list should be revised at 
stated intervals, and have a sworn statement rendered periodically to 
proper public officials so as to show the time certain goods had been 



ARE THE STORAGES A BANE OR A BLESSING? 117 

stored and which were afterwards to be offered for sale and used for 
food purposes insofar as their knowledge would show. This information 
would be invaluable for the trade and for the public. 

I am sure I have no prejudice in the matter and that I recognize fully 
the necessity for the important services rendered the produce trade and 
the whole country by the storages^ but I cannot forget that the public 
as well as the trade is entitled to a square deal from the storages. And 
J feel sure the storages would be the winner in the end by having such 
regulations in force as would insure the correct handling of all storage 
products, for public confidence is a valuable asset in conducting a ware- 
house nowadays. 

No one can estimate the extent of injury done to such articles as are 
usually stored unless he gets in close touch with the consuming public, 
and notes the aversion the average housewife has for those "awful storage 
goods." 

Of course, there are a lot of fake practices necessary to hoodwink the 
public into using storage products under the guise of being fresh, "just 
from the dear old farm with the dew on them." I am fully convinced 
this is all wrong and I believe that it would be best if storage goods 
were obliged to be sold as such. P'or example, if the general public were 
alive to the fact that the best eggs are those produced in March, April 
and May, and that these eggs can be carried under proper refrigeration 
imtil Christmas, there would be an astonishing difference in the way 
"cooler" eggs are consumed. But how many people eat storage eggs as 
such ? 

If people were acquainted with the truth that butter is even better 
for having been kept under proper refrigeration and that if the quality 
is good it can be maintained almost indefinitely, it is useless to say the 
thoughts of "cold storage" butter would ever cause the average citizen 
to turn up his nose at a tub of superb June extras in mid winter and 
result in his buying some oleo instead. 

"But," somebody says, "it would require an educational campaign to 
convince the public of its errors in opinions of this kind." 

To such I would reply : All reasonable demands in educating the 
])ublic should be met. It would cost some money and take possibly con- 
siderable time, it is true, but the investment would be worth while. 

Sure, there are lots of soreheads in the trade who proceed on the 
theory that the public wants to bo flim-flammed, and they ai)i)arontly 
think it the j)ro|)er ca])er to do as nuicli snide business as jjossiblc. But 
1 think it safe to say such men are too insignificant even to draw my fire. 
They are such as are constantly getting into trouble for their crookedness 



118 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

and no doubt have enough worry without my provoking them further. 
But I do want to add that such men do a lasting injury to the handling 
of storage goods by just such shortsightedness, and this lack of integrity 
has been the main factor in bringing cold storage products into disrepute. 
Such influence will have to be counteracted before a remedy can be 
applied. 

The proper length of time to fix as a limit for different commodities 
to remain in storage under certain conditions is a matter that only ex- 
perienced people should undertake to say. 

It is not guess work, however, for there are tests that can be applied 
with unerring accuracy, and which will show if food products are unfit 
for taking into the human system. There is no use killing time with any 
argument as to whether a limit could and should be fixed for all food 
products to remain in storage and afterwards to be put on sale. 

The matter resolves itself into a question of "can" and "must" in 
my judgment, for I feel that some day an outraged public will make it 
worth while for the storages to clean up and be decent as well as to use 
a little diplomacy and strategy in opposing and defeating laws in which 
the general trade as well as the public should be interested. 

Already a number of the level headed storage men are taking the 
broader view of matters and are free to admit that some regulations 
should be provided for the public's protection in the handling of storage 
products, for they know the American people like fair play and are 
usually willing to pay a fair price for an article of good quality whether 
it came from a cold storage or from a furnace. 

But people have an aversion to being cajoled into buying what they 
do not want, and especially when false pretenses are resorted to in order 
to make them buy. 

Naturally, it takes much time and study to get a great industry under 
way. It also requires much costly experimenting. This is exactly the 
case with the field of refrigeration, for it was comparatively a visionary 
scheme a half century ago as compared with the well nigh perfect systems 
on which they arc run today, at least from a mechanical point of view. 

It would be a startling revelation to some people even in the trade, 
to say nothing of the average man outside, to learn that some of the 
larger storages sometimes have as much as $2,500,000 out among cus- 
tomers in loans and advances on goods stored. When one considers there 
are around fifty big institutions of this kind in the country, besides a few 
hundred plants of lesser magnitude, some idea can be drawn about what 
the business implies. Yet the storage industry is a new business com- 
paratively speaking. 



ARE THE STORAGES A BANE OR A BLESSING? 119 

In view of the extent and importance of the subject I think it is all 
the more necessary for the storages to be justly but completely regulated 
in a reasonable way. Further research will probably be worth wliile 
before rigid limits are fixed for different articles to be kept under re- 
frigeration. But when it is established that a certain time is to be the 
limit it should prevail in all cases. 

State boards of health, as well as numerous city health officers, have 
tried from time to time to get measures passed to prevent the storage 
of undrawn poultry, when as a matter of fact that is the only way it can 
be properly kept. But it should not be kept too long, and there should 
be heavy penalties to prevent stuff that has been in the coolers overtime 
from going out to the consuming public. 

The same applies to all other commodities of similar perishable 
character. 



CHAPTER XVI 

CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS 

Whoever has had occasion to watch the average run of business men 
handling produce will readily agree that credit is entirely too cheap 
among most of the trade. 

It seems to be a kind of maxim that anybody is as good as anybody 
else so long as he pays good money for what he buys. In truths this 
version is correct so far as it goes, but it will not pan out in practice 
when it comes to extending credit indiscriminately through book accounts 
or otherwise. 

During the past several years I have had occasion to observe a num- 
ber of instances where retail fruit dealers as well as retail handlers of 
dairy products, and in fact, all other kinds of produce, deliberately set 
up and beat the wholesale trade out of hundreds of thousands of dollars 
in the aggregate. As a general rule they open a small place and are 
prompt in settling their bills. As soon as a line of credit has been 
established and the confidence of the wholesale trade has been gained it 
appears to be the general rule that the retailer who is so disposed can 
make a clean-up that represents what he would be glad to have as a 
year's profit on a legitimate business similar in extent to what he is 
supposed to be conducting. 

Gross carelessness in extending credit to those irresponsible retailers 
only invites disaster, and hundreds of wholesale dealers and jobbers 
have awakened to the fact that nothing short of complete co-operation 
for mutual protection can prevent losses from this source. Undoubtedly 
the system of handling credit information through an association whose 
secretary issues a sheet every week showing delinquents is a sensible 
method of dealing with matters of this kind. The experience of the 
trade in various markets where a good credit association is in oj^eration 
shows conclusively that losses caused by extending credit to irresponsible 
parties is reduced to a minimum which is incredibly small when compared 

120 



CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS 121 

with the enormous voluine of business done, — hence the system m<ay 
be considered ahnost perfect. No credit system, however, is better than 
its worst member, for it is alone due to the information given out by 
every individual member that protects the whole membership. 

The retail dealer who knows that he is being watched from every side, 
and that any irregularity in the settlement of his bills or obstinacy on 
his part is duly noted and reported, will usually think twice before he 
will engage in sharjj practices if he intends to stay in business long, 
and even if a retailer is of migratory habits and squats down at one 
place only long enough to swindle the wholesale trade, he finds the well 
organized credit association about the worst obstacle he can confront 
when he tries to put his plans into execution. 

Therefore, the credit association serves as an excellent protection 
both from the standpoint of the delinquent customer in the settlement of 
his bills and also in keeping the crafty retailer from traveling from 
town to town at the expense of the wholesale trade. 

Too much emphasis, however, cannot be laid upon the importance of 
establishing and maintaining an association to regulate credits so that 
it will include in its membership every wholesaler in a market if possible, 
and also devise such plans as will make every member live up to his 
obligations. For example: When a retail dealer is delinquent it should 
be the bounden duty of the party he owes to make a report showing such 
to be the case, and every other member should refuse positively to extend 
such delinquent further credit until he has paid what he owes or has 
made satisfactory arrangements to settle. Fidelity to his obligations 
on the part of every member is the keystone on which the whole asso- 
ciation arch must rest so as to provide a remedy to regulate credits and 
insure a maximum of protection to the entire membership. If properly 
worked the results are little short of marvelous. 

But not all the trouble found in handling credits is to be regulated 
by an association. Credits extended in making purchases at shipping 
points under the bank guarantee plan are equally as perilous if not 
more so than handling the retail trade in distributing produce. I take 
it that when money or its equivalent is advanced or surrendered to 
another party with the expectation of an equivalent value at some sub- 
sequent time, that the transaction is one which comes well within the 
boundary of our present discussion. 

Bank guarantees given in payment for goods bought at shipping sta- 
tion on f. o. b. sales, amount to little more or less than a reckless handling 
of credits which is calculated to demoralize business and perhaps lead 
to the utter ruin of those who indulge in the pastime of having "your 
bank wire our bank" etc. 



122 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Of course, if the goods bought are all right and if the consignor is all 
right there is no trouble, but unfortunately the history of such trans- 
actions do not lend much encouragement to those who are disposed to 
extend credit in this fashion. I think it cannot be successfully denied 
that the proper remedy for this reckless system is to divide the responsi- 
bility between the buyer and seller when the bank guarantee is used, 
and make the payment of such guarantees contingent upon the actual 
delivery of goods as represented at destination and make them subject 
to destination inspection under direction of a competent third party. 
This plan is especially indicated where two parties trading are un- 
acquainted. 

Among certain classes of trade in recent years there have been far 
too many cases where unreasonable discounts or allowances have been 
made especially by the jobbing trade in filling shipping ordei's. Often 
when checks are sent in settlement of invoices there is a notation that a 
certain amount has been "taken off." 

Competition among jobbers has been responsible largely for this state 
of affairs and no doubt the country merchants and retailers in small 
towns have been encouraged to a large extent in this questionable practice, 
and the readiness of the average jobber to allow these discounts helps 
to salve the conscience of the crooked retailer that may be willing to 
pay a fancy price when buying if he is allowed a fancy discount when he 
settles. A little common sense and concerted effort among jobbers is 
about all that is necessary to dispose of such practices as this. Already 
jobbers have taken the matter up in some sections and by sticking to- 
gether have been able to have their invoices paid promptly and with 
practically no set offs. When clear receipts are signed for goods upon 
delivery why should any concessions be made in settling for them? 

Often rebates have been resorted to as an inducement for trade, but 
have been found a poor stimulant for business, and the sooner the prac- 
tice is abandoned the better for all concerned. The buyer who will pay 
list prices provided he gets a rebate of from one to five per cent is not 
the most desirable customer whether he is buying for himself individually 
or whether he is purchasing supplies for others. Rebates as commonly 
understood amount to little more or less than graft, and there is small 
excuse for them in modern business. The individual or firm that takes 
a rebate will give one and will frequently take an additional step if it is 
necessary to accomplish their ends. 

The trouble with the rebate, as with all other inducements designed 
to secure new trade or to hold old customers, is that they are only a 
makeshift which amount to nothing in the last analysis, for if one's 




MARYLAND PEACHES A STRING OF PEACHES NEARLY A MILE LONG 




THE OTHER END OF THE LINE WHERE CARS ARE LOADED FOR SHIPPING 



CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS 123 

competitor meets one's concessions in the way of j^rices it is hard to 
see if any advantage has been gained or lost by either party compared 
with the conditions before the extra concession or inducement was made. 
If anj'thing, both competitors are injured. 

For example: If oranges are selling at $3.50 per box and a rebate 
of five per cent is being allowed by A, it can readily be seen that B, 
who sells the same oranges at $3.50 without a rebate will lose business to 
A. But as soon as B wakes up to the real situation and makes his re- 
bate five per cent also, it is quite apparent that both dealers or jobbers 
are in precisely the same relation to each other as competitors that they 
sustained prior to the time the rebate was fixed upon. But they are both 
worse off for their price cutting. 

In handling credits and discounts it frequently develops that con- 
fidence is misplaced. Men who were believed to be upright and who 
were extended credit and the usual courtesies in business, frequently 
show themselves up to be only one of the ordinary kind of callous in- 
dividuals who smiles when something is being handed to him and frowns 
when he has to give up something. 

To be able to handle credits intelligently it requires an expert in 
charge of that branch of the business, and I strongly advise having one 
man in each jobbing house devote much of his time, if not quite all to 
the subject where sufficient business is done to justify it. 

Before leaving the subject I want to advise strongly against taking 
long odds in handling credits. If you know a retailer or any buyer is 
doubtful, by no means invite your own loss by extending him more 
credit than he should have. I am fully aware that in many cases long 
chances have been taken and no loss has resulted, but it is undoubtedly 
true that enough losses have been incurred where indiscriminate credit 
has been extended to make it worth while to exercise great care in 
handing over one's goods to an unscrupulous scamp, maybe a plain 
huckster, without some form of security other than his word, which itself 
is probably spoken in broken English. 

Many dealers have paid dear for their experience in handling credits 
and there is no doubt but ihe future generation of fruit jobbers and 
wholesalers will be able to profit materially by some of the mistakes of 
their predecessors. I incline to the opinion that some of the wise ones 
in the next generation will prefer to have articles of produce decay 
now and then and be sent to the dump in preference to handing them 
over to someone else who sells them, pockets the money and goes on a 
tour for his health, and who is enabled to continue this practice in- 
definitely because of the stupid way credits are often handled by the 



124. PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

wholesale and jobbing trade in trusting Tom, Dick and Harry for what- 
ever they want to buy on their own terms. 

It has been a2)tly pointed out by some tliat credit will always be 
easy in the fruit and i)roduce field, because the trade is forced to sell 
goods to whoever wants to buy. 

In a way there is some truth in this claim, especially when markets 
are oversupplied and when it is imperative that goods be moved as 
speedily as possible. But it seems to me that a great deal of trouble 
and money could be saved if dealers would use a bit more caution in 
allowing tlie light weight operators to load up heavily just because they 
are ready to take on supplies. 

Frequently peddlers or retailers jump into the market and by their 
actions as good as tell the wholesalers they are in for a clean up. Yet 
it seems as a general thing nobody pays any heed to the danger signal, 
and it usually follows there is a missing face within a day or two along 
the row, or at its accustomed hang out. 

How many Italian villas and how many sumptuous mansions in the 
Isles of Greece are being maintained from funds procured in this way, 
we can only surmise. 

But there are those in the trade who have good reasons for supposing 
they have contributed enough to rebuild Rome and restore Greece. 

And as long as present methods are followed in making credit so 
easy we shall have clean-ups and more clean-ups. Lots of small buyers 
who can buy their "heads off" in whatever market they happen to be 
near, should be held strictly to cash and if most of them were handling 
any other line of business than produce they would be held to a cash 
basis. 

It is not my intention to cast any reflection upon the foreigners in the 
produce line, or to say a word against the small dealer, but unless tliey 
represent some assets or have some backing I maintain that it is folly 
to encourage them to beat the trade as so often happens by extending 
them an opportunity to jump out and buy a heavy line of goods and skip 
after sacrificing their purchases. 

Another matter I have in mind, and which may properly receive a 
bit of attention in this connection is the shield afforded by our national 
bankruptcy law to those who misuse credit and violate confidences in the 
trade nearly everj'^ day. 

It would be hard to imagine any single factor which has served to 
make credits so uncertain as this very law, which I am sorry to say 
is a blot on our commercial escutcheon in this country. 

How easy it seems for a fellow to go out and get other people's money 



CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS 125 

lied up in various deals, maybe .salted away wholly or in part, and then 
go into court and have his hands washed of all obligations, and which 
washing process permits him to go ahead much the same as before. 

I have no doubt that the intent of the law is good, but in practical 
application it comes about as nearly putting a premium upon dishonesty 
in seeking and using credit accommodations as anything I could imagine. 

Hundreds of cases have I seen in fruit and produce circles where 
heavy losses have been saddled upon people where there were indications 
only too clear to the eye of a business man that there was "something 
rotten in Denmark." 

Possibly the criminal phase of this law has never been properly in- 
voked. But generally speaking, those who find they have got to de- 
pend upon collecting 5'/f to 20^ of the amount of their claim's value 
in a bankruptcy proceeding seem to figure that it is a waste of time 
to even attend court. 

Here is where the crook has a great advantage. He has your mone}'^ 
and the law actually upholds him until you dig up some evidence upon 
which a prosecution might be based. 

It does not seem quite fair, and the movement among the National 
Association of Credit Men to accumulate a fund to investigate all bank- 
ruptcy cases and prosecute vigorously where fraud is discovered, is 
certainly deserving of the support of the trade at large as well as the 
business public generally. 

The scoundrel who sets out for an escapade, acknowledges he will lie 
for commercial purposes, brow beats and four flushes his way until he 
is several hundred thousand dollars to "the bad," — withal maybe money 
salted away — and files a petition in bankruptcy, gets up and sheds 
crocodile tears, saying he has simply played in "hard luck," but with 
people knowing the MAN, as they knew one notable character in Chicago 
a few years ago to be anything but an angel — should be made an ex- 
ample of and I say such fellows should be wearing stripes. 

The records of most bankruptcy cases almost make a man want to 
take a shot gun and — go snipe shooting. 



CHAPTER XVII 



EVILS IN THE TRADE THAT NEED CORRECTION 

I admit that I approach this subject with some degree of timidity, 
for it is always more easy to point out defects than to find a proper 
remedy for existing evils and bad practices, — more easy to be critical 
than to be correct. 

But there are so many aggravated cases that come up constantly which 
show that there are certain disorders among the produce trade which are 
badly in need of correction I hardly refrain from offering a few sugges- 
tions for troubles that have tended to make losses and break that con- 
fidence upon which all satisfactory dealing must rest. 

It is cowardly to evade our own faults and sometimes equally cowardly 
to pass unnoticed those of others. Men in the trade who want to de- 
vote their efforts to the betterment of conditions often seem afraid to take 
the initiative, and seem to be content that things should continue as they 
are running. 

To remedy evils perhaps requires a sacrifice on the part of someone. 
Those who are broad enough and progressive enough to undertake a solu- 
tion of long standing disorders should have the support and sympathy 
of the better class of people in and out of the trade in trying to create 
a sentiment that will support a movement looking to the general improve- 
ment of trade conditions. 

Heretofore, in handling preceding questions in this volume it has 
been '"^served that people in the produce business are probably no worse, 
if no bt. er, than men in other walks of life. Therefore, it is no reflec- 
tion on the trade, as such, to say that plain dishonesty is the cause of 
most troubles and is responsible for a majority of losses of monev and 
some friendships among those whose lot is cast with the various branches 
of the produce business. 

Of course, dishonesty is a broad term and it must be dissected and 
analyzed if its import and mischief are to be fully comprehended. 

126 



EVILS IN THE TRADE THAT NEED CORRECTION 127 

Neither time nor space in this volume or outside will permit of formulat- 
ing a code of rules that will suffice to govern every form of dishonesty, 
for its manifestations are infinite and its symptoms are legion. We 
have observed in a previous chapter that conscience is usually a safe 
guide to determine what is right. But there are those who sometimes 
seem incapable of drawing the right conclusion even after a protracted 
conference with their inner selves. It is most likely true that when 
conscience has been seared by a hot iron it is incapable of performing 
its normal function. But if there are those in the trade whose con- 
sciences cannot be depended upon to distinguish between plain cases of 
right and wrong, and if their reason is so deficient as to fail to dis- 
criminate between "mine" and "thine," it is no doubt best that such 
people be placed in a sanitarium and treated for kleptomania. 

But it is sometimes the case that errors of the head are confused with 
errors of the heart. A commission man who encourages consignments 
when he knows or should know that he is powerless to make good his 
quasi promise so far as prices are concerned, may shirk responsibility 
if there is a bad break and losses are incurred by the plain declaration 
that he was honest in his predictions about market conditions, and that 
if he gave out wrong information it was not intentional. There are 
numerous cases where this screen has been made use of and where there 
was a preponderance of evidence showing there was, at least, criminal 
ignorance on the part of the commission man in soliciting heavy shipments 
when the market outlook did not justify the line of information he sent 
out about market prospects. 

In a way this comes under the same general head as overquotations. 
But the plain overquotation or high bid for produce is a clear cut case 
of an error of the heart; whereas, the wrong kind of dope on market 
prospects may be due to bad judgment on the part of the firm or in- 
dividual who may be responsible for it and, therefore, an error of the 
head. 

Inasmuch as losses may be incurred by shippers from either kind of 
error, and since the losses are positive in both cases, the shipper may not 
be able or disposed to draw a very clear distinction between the two. 

The proper remedy for an error of the heart, where there is unmis- 
takable evidence of fraud, is the same as should be applied for the plain 
kind of dishonesty we find in the highway robber. By this I mean, there 
should be legal redress and the limit of punishment under the law should 
be applied to all out and out cases of crookedness. 

How best to deal with real errors of the head no man can say. But 
I believe that it would be an excellent plan if some system could be pro- 



128 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

vided for a rigid examination for all those in the trade who essay to 
offer their services to the public as agents or factors for handling fruits 
and produce for the account of others, and a license should be given only 
to those who make a creditable showing in an examination properly con- 
ducted by duly constituted authorities, and those wlio lack such honesty, 
skill and judgment as ought to be part and parcel of every commission 
man's make-up should be made to refrain from doing business. Per- 
haps some such regulations should be provided as would make it 
impossible for such unskilled and incompetent fellows as we occasionally 
run across to continue to operate except under strict supervision of the 
authorities. 

I am fully aware that by offering such a suggestion I am liable to be 
charged "with being revolutionary, and some may take the ground that 
such regulations would be unreasonable or maybe unconstitutional. But 
how about such regulations in other lines .^ Once upon a time almost 
anybody could try his hand at practicing medicine. What was the 
result? The quack finally killed so many people that the public was 
compelled to take some precautions about allowing every jack-leg to 
administer physic. Even the lawyers have to be admitted to the bar 
after a prescribed course of study, and surely there is no walk of life 
where the inexorable rule of the survival of the fittest is in more re- 
lentless operation than in the legal profession. Yet they are not per- 
mitted to begin in their work until they show suitable fitness. 

Again, civil engineers have to spend long years of study in prepara- 
tion for their work ; the trained agriculturist or horticulturist must do an 
infinite amount of preparation to be in line with modern conditions. But 
any dub who has the hunch, and a little ready cash to get a lot of morn- 
ing glory stationery printed (this is highly essential these days) can 
style himself a "commission merchant," and who can say him nay.'' 

The better element in the trade, which certainly predominates, should 
take a keen interest in providing some remedy so as to make it harder 
for every Tom, Dick and Harry to put up a big sign and begin opera- 
tions, mostly on hot air. A movement of the right kind backed by the 
whole trade would go a long way towards removing the stigma which 
attaches to the word "commission merchant" in some sections of the 
country. 

Intelligent men cannot be sincere if they doubt that my plan to have 
a state license for commission men is perfectly feasible. Is not the com- 
mission nurchant as much a public servant as an undertaker? Now- 
adays the undertakers nuist be licensed. I am sure most shippers would 
prefer to be handled right while alive by a licensed public servant than 



EVILS IN THE TRADE THAT NEED CORRECTION 129 

to wait until they are dead, maybe starved to death by bad losses from 
shipping incompetent and dishonest commission houses that could and 
should be put out of business in due course of law. For such houses are 
a nuisance and an eye-sore to the trade and the general public as well, 
where they show an utter lack of such knowledge and principle as is nec- 
essary to handle shipments of fruits and produce as they should be. I sub- 
mit that these "lame ducks" should be eliminated from the commission 
field, and the sooner the better. I advance no opinion about the probable 
number of so-called commission men that would be frozen out under a 
rigid license system, but there are a number of them who would not be 
able to make the proper showing if the correct test were applied. I shall 
take .up this proposition for further treatment in a latter chapter. 

In foregoing chapters attention has been called to the evils of padding 
sales, jealous and insane competition among dealers, cutting commissions, 
rebating and the get-rich-quick fever, etc. Reference is only made 
to them again in this connection so that we may not forget them, and 
I desire to reiterate that they are crying evils which ought to be sup- 
l)ressed. Some further remedies may be suggested for their treatment 
later on. 

There is one other evil I want to refer to, and I find I have neglected 
to list a gentleman that perhaps should have been introduced in the first 
chapter when we were defining the general trade. 

I refer to "Peter Ruby." He is the straw man of the produce busi- 
ness and he usually gets his fine Italian hand at work when car lots 
arc made up by several shippers and sent to one market, the cars con- 
taining various packages of goods for different houses. Such shipments 
are usually looked after by a general consignee who works for a small 
fee paid by shippers whose purpose is to secure a lower transportation 
rate by shipping in car lots than can be had on less than car lots. 

"Peter Ruby" is the man for whose account a shipment is sold when 
it is checked out and delivered from the warehouse, car or wharf by 
mistake to the wrong house, or at least to a house other than the one 
for which it was intended. Sometimes "Peter" is traced down, sometimes 
he escapes. It is needless to say he was conceived in dishonesty and 
thrives on trickery. 

Egotism is another evil that has made headway among the trade here 
and there. Possibly it would be better to diagnose this trouble as plain 
swell head. I should be the last fellow in Christendom to argue tliat 
everybody in the trade should not have due self respect, and recognize 
the important service to the general public that is rendered by the trade. 
But I fail to see where there is warrant for the blatant arrogance one 



130 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

finds now and then in certain individuals identified with growing, ship- 
ping and marketing produce. I know these self appointed grandees are 
comparatively rare in the trade, but they are far too numerous when 
measured by the "valuable service" they discharge in the general order of 
business affairs. I regret that during several years' observation among 
the general trade I have beheld a few disgusting examples that make 
it necessary to refer to this nauseating minority, and were it not people 
out of the trade are likely to measure the personnel of the whole trade 
by this cod fish nobility I should pass this matter unnoticed. Robert 
Burns perhaps did not have them in mind when he wrote "O, wad to 
God some gift to gae us to see oursels as others see us," but nothing could 
be more applicable. In short, humility is a virtue that is little known 
among some classes of the trade, who are little known themselves out- 
side of a limited few. 

Before I am voted a rabid fault finder I might draw the veil on this 
subject. But I have one more evil that I want to call attention to, and 
in doing this I think I can lay claim to a bit of originality. 

Did it ever occur to anyone else that in all probability a great many 
other evils in the trade are caused in a large measure from the surround- 
ings of commission men? To make myself clear, I refer to the places 
of business, the stores, the offices and the location of many produce 
houses in various markets. 

Upon my word, I only speak of some places where produce is sold as 
"stores" through courtesy. Buildings that offend instead of please from 
an architectural standpoint, that appear to have been constructed with 
no aim at sanitation; that are foul and stuffy, and are better for housing 
plunder than for handling produce, are considered by a few grasping 
landlords as being the very yarn for a produce dealer. It is amazing 
what excessive rents are paid for some of these shacks one runs across 
here and there. 

I break into this subject in all reverence for the finer feelings of 
those people who may be domiciled in some of these pig pens. Before 
moving another peg, however, I want to go on record by saying a few of 
the best people I ever met in the trade, or out of it, were quartered in 
some of these grimy places. And before moving another peg I shall 
have to add a further statement to the effect that many of the worst 
specimens of produce sharks I ever ran across were ensconced in joints 
of this kind. A further statement I must make leads to my conclusion: 
the surroundings, the atmosphere, the general influence of such places 
are bound to leave their effects upon those who are daily under their 
spell. The effect is positive and it cannot be evaded. The good people 
in foul dens either die young or move to better quarters. 



EVILS IN THE TRADE THAT NEED CORRECTION 131 

Hold on, gentle reader, — I am still on terra firma. You may suppose 
I have gone sailing among the clouds. But to convince you that I am 
still in possession of my senses, I want to whisper that I know as well 
as you that in handling poultry, veal, eggs, potatoes, onions, etc. and 
some other kinds of produce it is a hard matter to keep perfectly clean. 
Yes, I know that as well as you. But I submit that I have been through 
a fertilizer factory that was almost perfect in its equipment, and had 
very few stray odors floating around outside of certain rooms. There 
are lots of the better class of produce houses where they keep reason- 
ably clean and they handle plenty of business too. A mistaken idea 
seems to have got into some minds that the handling of fruits and prod- 
uce is essentially a nasty business. I cannot agree to the proposition 
at all. 

May I say it in print ! I fear some men in the trade have become 
afflicted with a disease from staying day after day, year after year in 
ill adapted, insanitary stores and offices ! 

I am averse to theory as a general proposition, but I believe in 
psychology, for it is true gospel. This great science of the mind teaches 
and proves that what we associate with for a long while we absorb and 
it becomes a part of us. This is a fact not because psychology teaches 
it, but we know it is true from actual experience. Honest men run a 
great risk by accepting chances to impair their moral fibre when they 
submit to doing business in a dinky little den or basement, badly lighted 
and with worse ventilation which allows foul odors to accumulate and 
concentrate so as to be nauseating to an outsider upon going in, provided 
he is accustomed to God's sunlight and fresh air. 

I know this evil is not so easily disposed of as might be imagined. 
But in the light of decency and common sense I submit that it is an evil 
of the rankest kind, and some remedy should be worked out and applied 
with a gentle hand if possible, but with an iron hand if necessary. 

High rents in the larger cities where the evil is most prevalent, is of 
course, the main difficulty in the way of larger and better quarters for 
all the trade. However, there has been too much haphazard in selecting 
the average produce district and in constructing the buildings to be used. 
So far as possible uniformity should prevail in the character and size 
of buildings, but all quarters need not be of the same size. If one firm 
could not use all of a medium size, decent store, the unused space could 
be rented to someone else. There is no good reason why better facilities 
cannot be had. The main trouble has been too many men have been care- 
less in this respect and have not figured out that economy in rents, where 
morals are involved, not only may be, but actually is, sheer folly and 



132 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

extravagance. Another thing in favor of more modern, sanitary stores 
and offices is the fact that more business can be handled in a shorter 
time with much less trouble and expense. A man's efficiency cannot 
have full play except under proper influences. Cleanliness is one of 
them. 

Surely, the produce business is of sufficient importance to make it 
worth while to have every good man in good quarters. If I were a 
shipper and intended to do business with a commission man I would either 
pay him a visit and inspect his surroundings or else ask him to have 
them photographed at my expense and send me the pictures. If they 
looked suspicious or had a "sour smell" I would side step any business 
with him. 

On the other hand if I were a buyer, the way I would pass up a fine 
line of stuff at cut prices if I had to hold my nose and bark my shins 
to buy ! Two to one I would prefer paying a little better price some 
place else. 

Do you realize there are more and more people looking at the matter 
in this way every day ? 

Hasn't the trade the right to insist upon decent surroundings in which 
to work? Those who stop for a moment's reflection can hardly make a 
wrong answer, 



CHAPTER XVIII 

LEGISLATION RELATING TO AND AFFECTING THE TRADE 

In a large measure the fruit and produce business is like necessity, 
for it knows no law. So diversified and scattered are the various factors 
and interests, and so irregular and uncertain are the seasons and con- 
ditions that it is very difficult to make things happen after a fixed plan, 
which is necessary to comply with the requirements of rigid statutes or 
court decisions. 

But laws are supposed to surround, permeate and govern everybody 
and everything. Quite true it is that there are important and specific 
laws relating to and affecting the trade, although many of them are 
honored more in the breach than in the observance. 

In view of the peculiar circumstances just referred to, and the con- 
stant changes and varied conditions incident to the handling of produce, 
it is a debatable question if a code of written laws can be relied upon to 
secure that which all law holds paramoimt, viz.: equal and exact justice 
among all men. Were it possible for a sufficiently high order of intelli- 
gence to prevail among the trade, equity, which is higher than the writ- 
ten law, ought to govern instead of trying to apply an inflexible statute 
providing "that John Doe shall or shall not do certain things, and if he 
does or does not do as the law prescribes he shall be subject to certain 
fixed penalties, etc." 

In a former chapter we have observed that it is often a hard matter, 
in some cases at least, for the courts to determine what is right and what 
is wrong, and we have also called attention to the fact that conscience 
exercised as a function of a normal intellect is the safest and most speedy 
guide in affairs relating to the produce business, or in shaping the gen- 
eral conduct of individuals or aggregations of individuals. 

Conscience, however, as we have also observed, may become inert and 
useless when seared with a "hot iron," as we read about in the writings 
of the Apostle Paul. But I must say that my observations, extending 

133 



i34> PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

over several years and coming in touch with several thousand individuals 
in the trade, lead me to believe that the percentage of people both in and 
out of the trade who cannot rely on conscience as being a safe moral 
guide is small indeed. 

Provided a set of laws could be framed that would cover every wrong 
and provide a suitable remedy, and which would contemplate every con- 
tingency that might arise in the produce business, and which might be 
elastic enough in their application so as to excuse an offender who could 
plead reasonable mitigating circumstances, and which at the same time 
could be invoked in all of their severity to punish the confirmed crook 
who gives himself over bodily to wrong doing for the love of it, such 
regulations would be a boon to the produce trade, and would be entitled 
to high rank in the judicial as well as in the business world. 

But the very difficulty of making a law which would be severe enough 
to punish some persistent offenders, and yet mild enough to excuse some 
others who may be offenders through accident or sheer ignorance, is at 
once the main difficulty in regulating the produce business strictly from 
a legal point of view. 

It is infinitely to be preferred that a healthy sentiment be created 
among the trade which puts a premium on honest dealing instead of try- 
ing to provide a series of legal safeguards and remedies. No law or set 
of laws have ever made a bad man good, but some laws which were de- 
signed for the moral uplift and protection of humanity have made some 
reasonably good men seem bad when their conduct is measured solely 
after statutes and court decisions. 

Of course, present laws, admittedly more or less imperfect, are in- 
finitely better than no laws at all, for it is only the fear of the law that 
keeps some men in the produce trade from being worse than they are. 
The main trouble with wholesome and desirable laws that are aimed 
at regulating fruit and produce matters is that they are not always fear- 
lessly and impartially enforced. This failure is perhaps not so much 
the fault in the laws as the officers of the law and the courts. But the 
lack of such provisions in a law as to secure its enforcement is a defect 
that must needs be charged against the law itself. Instead of a whole- 
some resjDect for and a loyal obedience to the law among officials in this 
country, there is often a disposition to adroitly make certain provisions 
inoperative and useless. 

Primarily, the relation sustained between a commission merchant and 
a shipper of fruits and produce is that of principal and agent or factor. 
This relation is one of ancient origin and is in general operation among 
all civilized peoples, I believe. For a fee in the form of a commission 



LEGISLATION RELATING TO TRADE 135 

generally computed on a percentage basis a service is extended by the 
agent or factor in buying or selling certain articles as arranged between 
the principal and agent, or else as determined by the custom of a market 
or as applied universally in handling a given commodity. Where the 
agent or factor fails to do his duty or is guilty of keeping back more 
than his rightful pay for his services, it is easy to see that a legal remedy 
should be provided and speedily enforced when necessary. 

It is interesting to observe that in actual practice the average com- 
mission man assumes the role of an arbitrary umpire from whose de- 
cision there is often little recourse or appeal when an error or wrong is 
alleged and its correction is sought. 

A shipper may argue that his goods were of a certain quality and that 
ruling market prices entitle him to certain returns. He is politely in- 
formed, we will assume (and the writer has observed many similar cases), 
that he has been paid every penny his goods brought, less the actual 
transportation for their carriage to market and the commission arising 
from their sale. If extreme steps are taken and litigation is resorted 
to for adjustment, the shipper usually finds he has his pains for his 
trouble in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, for it is generally an easy 
matter to fortify the commission man's position, whether right or wrong, 
unless of course, there is a palpable case of fraud. We leave out of 
count the question as to whether the shipper or commission man is in the 
wrong. 

In calling attention to this state of affairs it will be unnecessary, I hope, 
for me" to say that it is not my aim to cast any insinuations on the trade 
at large, but I merely lead up to what I have in mind and the point I 
set out to make, viz. : Some safeguard ought to be provided alike for the 
honest commission merchant against unjust accusations, and for the 
relief of the anxious, and maybe unfortunate shipper, who may not suffer 
as much as he supposes, but who should have a form of protection that 
could co-operate with his factor or agent in convincing him that no undue 
advantage is being taken of him in the sale of his property. 

What would be fair so as to secure a "square deal" for all parties con- 
cerned.'' Could a national law be passed that would provide a proper 
inspection service applying to all shipments at destination and also pro- 
vide for the complete auditing of records kept by commission men? If 
so, would the adoption of such a system be practical in everyday affairs } 

After considerable thought on the subject I am of the firm opinion that 
a federal statute should be provided to regulate commission men and their 
commissions if a law of this character can be enacted and enforced. I 
am confident that no remedy short of a national law can ever accomplish 



136 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

the desired ends. We have ali'eady seen that commission men easily fall 
midcr the elassifieation of quasi-public servants, for their services are 
usually open to any shipper. From a common sense point of view the 
commission man must be regarded an important factor in supplying the 
nation with food stuti's. His trust is one in which the public is vitally 
concerned directly and indirectly. So much of his business is of an in- 
terstate character that no legislation short of a federal statute could have 
the desired effects in regulating matters now complained of, and in deal- 
ing intelligently with new troubles that may come up later. If a federal 
statute of this kind could be had it would be well, in order to make the 
system thoroughly effective, that the various states pass laws parallel 
with the national law, at least, in essential features. Some able lawyers 
who have looked into the plan do not doubt its feasibility. 

It would be highly desirable to have a uniform system of accounting 
adopted everywhere after the simplest and most approved plans pos- 
sible, and provide for regular auditing of records under government sup- 
ervision where fruits and produce are handled on the consignment plan, 
provided the business is placed imder federal regulation. 

Inspection of goods on arrival at destination, especially in all the 
larger markets, under this plan, should be made compulsory, not only 
for the protection of consignors, but for the protection of the general 
public as well, as it is about the only way to cope successfully with the 
impure food problem, which is still a problem in this country. The re- 
sults under the federal meat inspection act have been so good that it is 
only a short step to all other food stuffs, particularly of a highly perish- 
able nature. Such inspection would not necessarily complicate the hand- 
ling of all legitimate business. 

I know that many people in the trade will oppose bitterly the proposi- 
tion I make, and some will declare the idea as being crazy. But it should 
be recalled that the big meat packers assumed the same attitude towards 
the meat inspection law before it was passed and were found fighting 
the proposition to the last ditch. The trouble with many men in the trade 
is that they want absolutely no provisions made to regulate the produce 
business except as each individual man or firm may make and then be al- 
lowed to break as often as he or they wish or dare. Perhaps it is not 
going too far to say that the sooner such men are brought to realize that 
they are in need of some regulation the better it will be for the trade 
at large. 

Too long it has been the case that matters have run along in a hap- 
hazard fashion in the fruit and produce business. Lack of proper regu- 
lation is in a large measure responsible for a great deal of the aimless 




MARKETING SCENES IN DELAWARE — THE ELBERTA PEACH IS IN ITf GLORY AND 
THE MULE THRIVES LIKE THE GREEN BAV TREE 



LEGISLATION RELATING TO TRADE 137 

and dangerous .speculation we run across so often. I am sure it is 
utterly useless to waste words in arguing that it is not only feasible, but 
highly necessary for governmental regulation of a great many if not all 
produce aftairs. At least, certain broad requirements under federal reg- 
ulation should be complied with. 

The main reasons for such a system is: First, Because it is the only 
plan that is comprehensive enough to be effective. Second, A constantly 
increasing element is to be found in this country who have not the proper 
respect for any regulation short of that enforced by the general govern- 
ment. Third, Conditions demand some safeguards for the handling of the 
enormous volume of business after the most approved system, which can 
be best worked out by government agents in co-operation with the best 
people in the trade so as to secure maximum profits in handling business 
after a modern, "uniform system. Fourth, The information obtained about 
fruits and produce handled under governmental regulation would be of 
inestimable value to the various government departments, and to the 
whole people as well, as much vital data could be acquired about the re- 
sults of growing and shipping certain varieties of fruits and vegetables, 
and also the volume of business in certain commodities, about the nature 
and extent of which little is known at the present time. Besides, there 
are other additional good reasons why the general government should 
concern itself in produce matters, and I feel that public sentiment will 
develop to the point in a comparatively short time that a popular demand 
will call for some action along this line. It cannot come too soon, and 
I say this as a thoroughly impartial observer of the manner of handling 
this business as it is now conducted. 

To go back to the commission man as an agent, we find that there are 
laws in all the states providing certain penalties for failure of commis- 
sion men to do or not to do certain things as prescribed by law. 

In a majority, if not in all the states, it is a criminal offense, punish- 
able as a felony, for a commission merchant to fail or to refuse to make 
due accounting and send all net proceeds to all shippers for all goods en- 
trusted to him to sell. It is a fact nevertheless that this law is often vio- 
lated, for it is frequently true that it costs more to collect money justly 
due than the amount involved is worth, and this fact often prevents proper 
action to obtain redress even when shippers have a just grievance. The 
national government can weed out crooks and help put the produce busi- 
ness on the higher commercial plane on which it should rest. There is 
no way of elevating the business as it should be except to make it difficult 
if not impossible for crooks to reap an easy harvest, either from a sys- 
tematic campaign of stealing a little here and there, or from making a 



1S8 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

plunge in a short while and then skipping out to repeat the same trick 
some place else. 

Among recent pieces of legislation that have interested the produce 
public is the so called national rate bill to which reference has been made 
in a former chapter. Undoubtedly^ the rate law is good as far as it goes, 
but it is hardly sufficient to accomplish the desired ends unless amended. 
Transportation, as we have already seen, is one of the most vital factors 
in the produce business as well as in every other line of commercial ac- 
tivity. No one in the trade who has had occasion to observe the methods 
of railroads, express companies and the various boat lines, can doubt 
for a moment that these great agencies should be under strict govern- 
mental regulation which will secure proper service at a reasonable cost. 
Proper legislation is the only means the trade has to bring about this 
desired result, and as new conditions arise demanding changes, no time 
should be lost in securing such amendments to the rate law and to other 
laws as may be found necessary. Possibly a new scheme of regulation 
will be required, and maybe some far reaching measures will have to be 
resorted to before the trade at large can get such treatment as it should 
and must have in the future. 

In different states various trade organizations have interested them- 
selves along with the business public generally in having state laws 
passed providing for reciprocal demurrage. These laws relate to trade 
matters and affect the produce business vitally. There is no reason 
why the trade at large should not endorse and demand reciprocal 
demurrage. It is a good form of insurance against unnecessary delays 
in shipping. 

When railroads fail or refuse to provide the necessary equipment 
to move perishable traffic they should be forced to pay the losses result- 
ing from such carelessness or inefficiency in their operations. In states 
where laws of this character are in force it is found they help more speed- 
ily to secure such proper transportation facilities as should be provided. 

It is interesting to note the trend of sentiment over the country in 
reference to cold storages and the expression of popular feeling which 
has been crystalized in various city and state laws as have been pro- 
posed during the past few years. Practically all of these regulations 
have been aimed at the storages apparently on the mistaken theory that 
they are public nuisances. Reference has been made to this subject al- 
ready, and it has been seen that the storages really assume the same at- 
titude with the rest of the trade when it comes to passing any rules for 
their regulation. They oppose them from sheer force of habit. 

I am of the opinion that just and reasonable laws governing storages 



LEGISLATION RELATING TO TRADE 139 

should be demanded and supported by the trade at large. These houses 
occupy much the same relation to the public as commission men, and it 
might not be amiss for the general government to have surveillance over 
the cold storages also, for most products kept in storages go into inter- 
state traffic. I am afraid, however, the chief aim of many of the city 
ordinances and state laws which have been proposed for the regulation 
of cold storages has been to seriously interfere with their legitimate func- 
tions and have not been as fair as they should in their provisions towards 
restrictions that are sometimes unnecessary, and that are perhaps too 
exacting. Many of these laws have doubtless been conceived as "sand 
bag" measures and dropped as soon as certain grafting politicians had 
gotten up a "jack pot" from interested parties. 

In a work of this kind it is utterly impossible to even refer briefly to 
the legal phase of all matters in which the trade is interested. Frequently 
it is necessary to resort to the courts to establish one's rights under the 
law. In all such cases a conference should be had with a reliable attor- 
ney for advice or assistance. A good lawyer is absolutely necessary in 
most cases to protect one's rights when no redress or satisfaction can be 
had except by going to law. One other suggestion I want to offer : When 
you find a good lawyer do not fail to show the proper appreciation for 
his services. Do not consider because he demands a stiff fee that his 
services are too costly, for it is generally the case that the high priced 
lawyer is the cheapest after all. 

Avoid litigation whenever possible, but when it is necessary to go 
into court, do so with a determination to win, provided you are in the 
right, and nobody should get into court as a plaintiff in a civil suit unless 
he is in the right. 

As the principle of arbitration becomes better understood it will be 
more popular, and will take the place of a great deal of expensive and 
uncalled for litigation. 

A few good laws strictly enforced are better for the trade and the 
public than a complex maze of legal verbiage that too often means 
nothing, and if one now and then means something, to have to resort to 
the higher courts to discover what that meaning may be. 



CHAPTER XIX 

PRODUCE AND PATRIOTISM 

Just as patriotic impulses are inspired from contemplating noble deeds 
of sacrifice or heroic service, so are lofty feelings awakened by those in 
the produce trade who have made possible the successes of others by 
themselves achieving success. 

It would make interesting reading if a series of true biographical 
sketches of the real leaders of thought and action in the trade were 
properly put together showing the far reaching influences here and there 
that have been exerted on trade affairs, possibly for all time to come, by 
these whole souled, patriotic fellows who have often labored for the 
cause of the entire trade when they were apparently working for them- 
selves alone. Occasionally we find these bold mariners turning their 
keels into unsailed and uncharted seas, and there are cases where some of 
these ships are still at sea with no tidings to show if they are freighted 
down on their return with rich cargoes of merchandise, or if they have 
been left derelict after being robbed and maybe scuttled by pirates. 

It is not my purpose to go into details and print names of the men 
who have been bold enough and patriotic enough to launch out trying to 
discover new empires to exploit, to find new fields to develop, not alone 
for their benefit but for the welfare of others also, for no patent or copy- 
right can be secured on the average produce discovery, although it is 
made after considerable outlay of money and much worry, and the bene- 
fits accruing are eventually shared by everybody in the trade. 

But with some folks produce matters make a poor compound witli 
patriotic principles. One is sordidly narrow to them; the other must 
be joyously broad if it exists at all. With such people the spirit of co- 
operation is a feeling they know little about. When patriotism had no 
place in the trade was prior to the discovery that certain evils could be 
dealt with and overcome, or at least alleviated, best by concerted action, 
instead of going on the ancient theory that every man can always fight 

140 



PRODUCE AND PATRIOTISM Ul 

his battles alone. As iiion become more intelligent thc}'^ are naturally 
broader and more patriotic in their views. 

Education is evolution. Conditions surrounding the trade today were 
undreamt of fifty years ago. The wonderful strides that have taken 
place in other lines of business during the past few years have their 
parallel in the great fruit and produce industry. With all this progress 
has come responsibility, and responsibility implies certain duties that 
are largely patriotic services in their last analysis. 

I wonder if it has never occurred to a majority of people that all 
men engaged in the growing, shipping and selling of produce are not 
actuated solely by the dollar in doing the work they have in hand. Quite 
true it is that many men in the trade have yet to learn that there is a 
great world outside their own little sphere of business, and even beyond 
that there is a boundless universe of feeling and action. 

As a man or a set of men become broader and deeper they become bet- 
ter, perhaps not so much from a strictly orthodox standpoint as from a 
liumanitarian point of view, for it cannot be denied that the higher stand- 
ards among produce people have stimulated a keener sympathy for one 
another's ills, and has given rise to a genuine appreciation of one an- 
other's true worth and importance. 

Any business that is conducted on the plan of every fellow for himself 
and the devil take the hindmost, is sure to produce a class of men, 
narrow, selfish, and a menace instead of a blessing to the whole body 
politic. While there are a few men in the trade who have not caught 
the modern spirit that bids them wish others a share of the success they 
hope for themselves, and which extends good cheer to others, and who 
may fail to understand that their obligations involve some idea of 
patriotic service as well as a bare means of making a living, the num- 
ber of such unfortunates is certainly being reduced to a decreasing 
minority. 

To be a successful produce man in any branch of the trade one must 
be broad, if not deep, and usually those who are broad have but another 
step to take in order to be deep, in thought, feeling and action. A busi- 
ness that extends all over the country and that necessarily brings one in 
touch with so many different kinds of people, ought to be an excellent 
exercise to develop the higher and nobler instincts of one's nature, to 
bring one to a full realization of his obligations not only to himself but to 
others also. In truth, the breadth of the business is calculated to make a 
man broad, and therefore better, if he will but encourage his power of 
vision and give play to his finer sensibilit}'. Instead of allowing the rim 
of the dollar to obscure his horizon, he should betake himself to a moun- 



142 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

tain top and look out over a fair land that is strewn with gems and 
adorned with flowers for his enrichment and pleasure if he will only 
prepare himself for their enjoyment and seek them out. 

No, gentle reader, I am not talking about star gazers or rainbow 
chasers. I have reference to the different phases of the fruit and produce 
trade. Observe it calmly; it is, indeed, a sublime aggregation. Take 
the continent for your arena, the great American people for your audi- 
ence and you have what the business typifies, for it reaches every nook 
and corner of the country, either directly or indirectly, and touches in 
some way every man, woman and child. Is not this vast stretch of human 
interests and activities enough to make one pause? Think of the noble 
spectacle that would present itself if an eye could sweep over all this 
great country at a glance and could actually see the thousand and one men 
employed in growing, shipping and selling the stupendous annual supplies 
of apples, peaches, oranges, potatoes, onions, cabbage, poultry, eggs, 
butter, etc. that must be had to provide our great nation with a hundred 
and one produce article to keep the big machine going! 

Who can doubt my doctrine that the great produce game should inspire 
patriotism? Not so much a patriotism that ends with one's board fence 
or with one's state lines, but the kind that spreads out like the object 
of its inspiration and takes in the whole country. 

The men who have done most for the betterment of trade conditions 
have been of the class that has taken the broader views of affairs. In 
other words, their business policy and their patriotism have not been of 
a narrow or contracted nature. It is unnecessary, I presume to distin- 
guish between the "hollow horn" brand of agitation to which the trade 
has been subjected now and then, and the vital influences that do good 
things and keep on doing, thus changing the current of events for the 
better. Some men have yet to learn that a brass band and a double 
column story on the first page in the newspapers is not a necessary ad- 
junct of a progressive measure designed for the general uplift of the 
trade. The reaction following a concert of clamor where some foxy in- 
dividual is looking for a little free advertising often leaves matters in 
worse shape than before the would-be reformer began his crusade. 

It is scarcely worth while to mention the names of certain men who 
have done a real service to their country by opening up new fields in the 
produce business, and who have devised new and improved methods of 
handling a large part of the nation's food stuffs, men who have blazed 
into a new empire as it were, and who have been the pioneers in pro- 
claiming a newer and better order of things. As a general rule these men 
have been substantially rewarded in a business way, but I submit there 



to g 



^ z 

K n 
w o 







I 



PRODUCE AND PATRIOTISM 143 

are many uncrowned heroes of commercial triumphs, and men whose 
praises are as yet unsung for good work done in the agricultural and 
horticultural realms, and whose thought and effort were essential to the 
present advanced stage of development of the industry under treatment. 

Taken altogether it is true that the produce trade has contributed 
its quota of good citizens to our body politic. Numbers of men have left 
the ranks of the trade to fill posts of honor of various kinds, and I am 
confident that a larger proportion of leaders in different lines in the fu- 
ture will come from the produce field than has been true in the past. I 
say this in all candor, for I feel that there is as fine human material, 
when measured after any standard, among produce people as can be found 
in any other line of business today. 

Moreover, the tenets of a new faith have been proclaimed. The gos- 
pel of service has superseded the creed of selfishness and asceticism 
among the past generation of the trade. Broader thinking and keener 
sensibility have opened the way for more extended action with larger 
and more satisfactory returns. 

Co-operation based on a broad, patriotic sympathy is some day to 
be the touchstone of true success. Time and space are almost annihilated 
in the produce realm today. Sectional lines and political borders have 
been nearly obliterated in the new order of things. And as the light grad- 
ually breaks over the range the greed for gold loses part of its sinister 
charm that lulls men's higher natures into a stupor, and makes them 
slaves or demons or both. 

You say this looks nice on paper, but is it true? Is it true? If it does 
not assume at least an air of truth to you, if you are in the trade, let 
me advise a little introspection. Examine yourself. Are you standing 
in the way of a better order of things in the great produce trade ? Have 
you done your full duty to others in the trade as well as to yourself? 

Has the sum total of your efforts been a help or a hindrance to the 
modern uplift and onward movement? Where and how do you stand 
anyway? What is your number? Do you really know your place? 
Maybe you are a soldier in the wrong camp ? There are jome who 
would be more of a credit to the trade outside than inside the real 
produce vanguard. Are you one of these? If so, on behalf of the better 
element that must and will soon predominate in produce circles, I extend 
you a cordial invitation to brush up and brush out your pessimism, nar- 
rowness and possible wrongdoing ; get in line for a better era, or else get 
out of line and the further you go the better, for it will not be always 
before your doxology is sung, and your obituary will have been duly 
recorded. 



144 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

The reforms that have extended through the different branches of the 
this business will never go backward, but forward always; the morale 
of the trade will never go down, but up. Those of us who survive a few 
years longer may expect to see more reforms, more changes, more im- 
provements and better people who will administer the affairs pertaining 
to this great business. The right kind of moral fibre, the right kind of 
muscle and the right kind of judgment will be the combination that calls 
for a premium in the produce field, and this premium should be good for 
passage anywhere like the coin of the realm. 

Let us hope the time is not far distant when the trade will come into 
its own in honesty, influence and wealth, and in possession of all other 
desirable things merited. The opportunity is open for great achievements. 
I for one expect the right men will come forward and perform com- 
mercial feats little short of miracles when measured by past accom- 
plishments. 

I hazard my reputation as a prophet on the prediction that in the 
future the men who will astound the trade with their accomplishments will 
be genuine patriots who delight in the progress and prosperity of others 
as well as take honest pride in their own successes. 

Verily, to be a good produce man is to be a good patriot in all that 
the word implies. 



CHAPTER XX 

AN APPEAL FOR EQUAL AND EXACT JUSTICE 

If the chapters that have gone before can be said to have any positive 
influence the gist of what I have set out must be summed up as having 
an overwhelming bearing in favor of what is just and right in the con- 
duct of trade affairs. 

However. I desire to make a further appeal for that equal and exact 
justice between man and man that must prevail before the produce busi- 
ness can be said to be anywhere near the ideal state we so much desire, 
and to secure which many trade organizations have been formed from 
time to time. 

Already enough has been said about the difficulty to determine some- 
times what is exactly right, and I hope sufficient remarks have been made 
to show that the average individual can usually find out what is right 
if he wants to do so. I think fully nine-tenths of the devilment and 
trickery in the trade is premeditated and fully understood by those who 
walk in the secret places, and who delight to tarry in the shady nooks 
and corners. As it was said in olden time, such people prefer darkness 
rather than light because their deeds are evil, at least those who so delight 
to sport now and then with the shadows on the wall. 

Aside from the contingent in the trade whose conscience may be seared, 
whose judgment is warped by chronic crookedness and whose very moral 
fibre is punctured by exposure to frequent big or little acts of wrong 
doing, there is another class who might be designated the "near honest" 
crowd who aim at sparing their conscience, if you please, but always 
count on getting the best end of every deal. In other words, they want 
other people always to assume losses if there must be losses and let 
them, the "near honest," have the jirofits. They are better aritlnne- 
tieians tlian christians. They want the benefit of every doubt, and are 
usually fond of basking in the limelight of trade, if not popular favor, 
like the Pharisees of old. It is with this "law honest" bunch that I have 
special concern in this chapter. 

145 



146 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

It is painfully true that with some firms and individuals in the trade 
a deal must always be a "jug handle" affair. Perhaps I should add that 
these fellows are in a minority, although they are far too numerous. 

They all do not march under one banner, nor are they all in one branch 
of the trade. Here and there we run across them like snags or shoals 
in a great watercourse, and where the effect of such impediments seems 
to be mainly to aggravate navigation and hinder commerce. Possibly 
they have a purpose in the scheme of affairs, but I fancy they would have 
a hard job to give an excuse for clogging the wheels of honest dealing. 
And I doubt if their existence were put to the test of pure logic they 
could show cause why they should not be put out of business, that is, 
when judged after proper trade standards. 

In that era devoutly to be wished for, when equal and exact justice 
shall prevail and govern the trade, it may become a reality and not an 
idle dream that all men will be honest. The system so long in vogue 
whereby too much has been predicated upon the ipse dixit of the com- 
mission merchant seems to be ready for a radical shakeup. Certainly 
it is to be deplored that so many violations of confidence have resulted 
from the old consignment system which is pretty from a theoretical stand- 
point, but which fails sometimes in practice because there is something 
wrong with the men chosen to execute the details in operating the 
system. As stated previously I have no serious fault to find with the 
consignment method as such, but its misuse has made many crooks and 
semi-crooks all along the line. It is merely a question of having an 
opportunity for some people to do crooked business. 

No legal net has ever been woven with meshes small enough to catch 
the little crooks, and at the same time strong enough to hold the big 
crooks. A golden rule to measure produce people, I fear, would need to 
be encased in steel when applied to the rough spots in certain places. Too 
often a produce deal is a game played with loaded dice, or a deck 
with marked aces. So many shakes are allowed all around ; the deal 
looks to be a square one. But to those who are sufficiently versed to be 
what is technically termed "on to the game," it is plain there can only 
be one result in the round up. It is no more difficult to get trimmed any 
day in almost any produce market than the raw sucker used to find in a 
far western mining camp when he expected to play a sure thing and make 
a big killing or break the bank. 

Now, I hope no one will be so rash as to accuse me of trying to 
slander the produce trade as a whole, for that is far from my pur- 
pose, and every reasonable person must so decide if he has perused even 
casually what I have said in the foregoing chapters. My aim is to 



AN APPEAL FOR EQUAL JUSTICE 147 

make a fervent plea for the kind of justice we all want or should want 
if we hope to see the business put on the right basis, and I take 
it that none but a few crooks will raise a howl, and dub me a sensational 
reformer for taking the firm stand that there arc abuses and evils that 
must be regulated and remedied before the era we have in mind can ever 
be ushered in. 

All friction cannot be eliminated from the produce business, it is true, 
but if every man would make it a part of his daily study to see that he 
does what is right and only what is right, I am absolutely sure it would 
make for the hai)piness and profit of the individual as well as the trade 
at large. What a delightful pastime it would be to handle fruits and 
produce if all men in the trade were honest! That would insure tlie 
equal and exact justice we are talking about. Profits under such a sys- 
tem might not be so large in some deals but they would be much more 
regular and certain. To say the least, profits would be honest, and when 
losses had to be met, as they always must be, they would be honest losses 
and could be assumed with a better grace than at the present time when 
every other fellow seems to feel he is skinned when he meets a loss. 

Honesty presupposes moral stamina; justice is predicated upon a 
modicum of intelligence. Justice, whether measured through the legal 
sieve or not, should mix readily into the dough of honesty and make a 
good loaf, biscuit or bun. Another definition for honesty might be jus- 
tice. Neither is possible without the other, and I think it would be a 
long step in the direction of improved trade conditions if everybody in 
the trade could realize fully the truth of this fact. Plain honesty may 
sometimes go a step beyond what cut and dried justice requires, but not 
often are the two at variance. Men sometimes get the mistaken idea that 
to be honest they would go broke. Such specious argument is advanced 
as "our dishonest competitors would get all the trade," and "we must 
abide by trade customs; if they are wrong we cannot help it," and "life 
is too short to waste time trying to remedy evils that are of long stand- 
ing and so widespread." Only physical weaklings or moral degenerates 
can share such opinions. He is a curse to the trade who does not assume 
responsibility for standards and ideals that are found among the people 
who make up the body of which he is a part. 

However insignificant a wrong may appear it may become disastrous 
to somebody in its ultimate effect. Loose honesty seems to have become 
widespread among the trade long ago, presumably because it was fash- 
ionable. Sentiment rules strong. When men get higher ideals they have 
better ideas. Honesty is not entirely a subjective condition, and justice 
is not purely an ethical theory. They have their real application in 



148 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

everyday life. Both are arrived at by mental processes. How important 
then that men's minds be set right ! This is why I urge that it is part 
of the bounden duty of everybody in the trade to uplift and uphold trade 
ideals. This can be done, if you please, without making the whole trade 
a race of professional "butinskis." But when opportunity ojffers the 
wrong should be roundly condemned ; the right should be as soundly com- 
mended, and if necessary, courageously and effectively defended. 

I submit that it is or should be a duty that devolves upon everyone 
to use his best efforts to not only weed out confirmed crooks in the trade, 
but also to do his best to array himself against any and all customs which 
put a price on good behavior, to foster and protect the man who is being 
made the victim of a ruthless and sinister practice ; and at all times to 
deal a telling blow to any bad behavior, although it may have the sanc- 
tion of long usage and may have been winked at by an ultra respectable 
set, possessing the outward guise of piety, but withal foul to the core. 

There are evils and systematic errors of which I may not speak. It 
would be of little worth to try to enumerate them all. Principle is the 
main thing, and it is with principles we are chiefly concerned. Suffice 
it to say concerted action among the better element, which certainly 
predominates in the trade, would go a long way towards securing justice 
that would inspire confidence and remedy evils as nothing else can. 

But how can we get concerted action? By having everyone wait for 
someone else to take the initiative? Hardly. Every man should ap- 
point himself a committee of one to see that no time is lost to inaugurate 
good reforms to regulate and purify business in his respective line. 
Those fearless and honest enough would doubtless make rapid progress 
on their own account, and meet positive encouragement on the part of 
others if the proper spirit permeated the entire trade. Righteousness is 
contagious when its potency is understood and when men realize there 
is a reward in doing right over and beyond the sum of a few paltry 
dollars. 

Very nice, you say, but will this era of equal and exact justice ever 
come about even through a long process of evolution? From what I 
have said heretofore it will be unnecessary to dwell on ray answer. I 
hope the time is not far off when we shall see the fruits of labors spent in 
the direction of better trade ideals and better men in the business. I 
verily believe as time goes on we shall find more men have been good 
than bad, and that equal and exact justice is becoming popular and prof- 
itable. I shall offer some further argument on this subject in a later 
cliapter. 

In conclusion, I want to say that the produce public is as good as the 



AN APPEAL FOR EQUAL JUSTICE U9 

people make it. That is self evident. To advance the standards of the 
business, it is essential that the individuals be reached and transformed 
where transformation is necessary. Where it is not necessary the in- 
dividual must be reached, and his support and sympathy enlisted in the 
cause of justice to every bod}^ in the trade and out of it. The individual 
can be reached best by the evangels that cry out in the still watches of 
the night. Their voices may be feeble at first, but they will be heard. 
It is iirst a case of conscience. Exercise your higher sensibilities. Get 
right and tell others. It will be an easy matter to stick when others do. 

I shall lay down no new laws, nor proclaim any new philosophy. Jus- 
tice is positive, practical and profitable, especially if exact and universal 
in its application. But justice can never be found in a crucible nor re- 
duced to a mathematical formula. Withal, it is simple in most cases 
where produce details are involved, and those who have no acquaintance 
with justice can probably get an introduction from their next door 
neighbors. When justice is perverse and elusive, as it sometimes must 
be, it can generally be found out by arbitration. But usually the un- 
adulterated brand can be arrived at by the individual who has an honest 
heart, a moment's leisure and the right disposition. 

When the day of equal and exact justice comes, then and not until 
then can produce affairs move with the swiftness, certainty, pleasure and 
profit that I believe was intended by a beneficent Creator. As we should 
await the millennium in spiritual affairs, as we are duly commanded, so 
should we aid the approach of the time when produce people will find it 
is easy for everybody to do right all the time as for some to do wrong 
in small or large affairs, some always, some only now and then. Jus- 
tice must ultimately predominate here or hereafter. Slowly but surely 
there are unmistakable signs springing up from time to time which prove 
that the great principles of justice and honesty are being better under- 
stood and more generally accepted by the trade everywhere. 

The produce millennium is not yet, but it is certainly in process of 
evolution. Those who are so fortunate as to live a few years more may 
expect to see some real wonders as the upward movement progresses. 



CHAPTER XXI 



THE WIZARDS AT WORK 

The fruit and produce business either from the growing or marketing 
standpoint can hardly be said to be allied to the black arts ; yet it seems 
there are wizards at work effecting changes from time to time, and 
securing results that make one question the statement that the day of 
miracles is past. 

It is true that things we are accustomed to from day to day after 
awhile seem trite. Only outsiders can appreciate the wonders that are 
being worked out in the great produce field every season, and which 
frequently fall little short of being magical because of their intricacy 
and immensity. Imagine if you can the far reaching effect on humanity 
wrought by horticultural wizards like Burbank and others whose lives 
are wound up in producing and developing new and better varieties of 
fruits and flowers, and think also what the ultimate effect of such a life 
is on trade affairs at large. 

First, tlie horticultural wizard, if we may call him such, develops a 
new variety, then other wizards set about to make perfect what the first 
wizard seemed to have only dreamt. The final realization comes when 
the general public is reached and blessed by having better fruits or prod- 
ucts of various kinds and more of them for less money. 

W^hat infinite labor and what marvellous intellects have been necessary 
through the long series of years to take the few primitive fruits and 
vegetables supplied in the scant storehouse of nature, and develop the al- 
most perfect strains we find today! It would, indeed, be futile for 
me to attempt to form an estimate of the great men who have made pres- 
ent conditions in the fruit and produce business what they are. It is 
a long story and doubtless antedates even the discovery of this continent, 
for we must recollect tliat ])resent day jjrogress in all lines, though seem- 
ingly modern out and out, has its counterpart in olden times even before 
the discovery of gunpowder or the mariner's compass. 

150 



THE WIZARDS AT WORK 1.^1 

But tlitrf arc wizards at work aside from the horticultural end of 
the produce husiness. Wc may not stop to think what a wonderful thing 
it is that present trade conditions liave well nigh ol)litcrated the times for 
the animal seasons as tiiev were formerly known. To have luscious 
strawberries in nortliern markets in the winter time is a triumph that 
ought to rank, at least in point of uniqueness, with the invention of 
wireless telegraphy or the discovery of X rays. They all show progress, 
and all progress must be correlated. 

However, the example of the berries just cited might be varied in- 
definitely with other articles under different circumstances. It is not so 
much a wonder to have fruits and produce out of season as there is won- 
der in the distribution of all kinds of produce over this broad country 
in season, for as we have ah'eady noted the term season has become so 
elastic as to stretch almost from January to December. 

The application of refrigeration to the handling of produce has trans- 
formed some lines so completely as to necessitate an entire revision of 
trade customs. In the memory of many men in the trade they recollect 
the time when there was no such thing as a storage egg or a tub of stor- 
age butter. What do we find today ? The change compares favorably 
with stories we read about in Arabian Nights and the fairy books. 

There are still other feats in handling produce, however, that must 
challenge our admiration, and we must look closely to see the real w^on- 
ders, for they are so frequent as to appear trite and commonplace. 

Nothing could possess more to move one to imagine himself in fairy- 
land than to take a glance over a big market place in the early morn- 
ing hours when thousands and thousands of parcels and packages of 
fruits, vegetables and other kinds of produce are put on sale and begin 
the last lap of their jaunt from the producer to the consumer. 

Here in the market, whether it be the street, the wharf, or on the 
track, all is bustle and excitement. Buyers are quick to act ; sellers are 
anxious, and it seems as if the very atmosphere is charged with energy 
that makes things go and go in a hurry. What is most singular, those 
who are mixed up in the great drama are often unable to realize fully 
what is taking place around them. Presumably it is much the same as 
the feeling of the seasoned soldier who becomes so inured to hardships 
and danger as to be reckless of his life when he goes into battle, and 
scarcely to realize that men are being mowed down all around him. 

I was on the "street" of one of the largest markets in the coun- 
try one morning and I found myself tied up in a jam on the side- 
walk where there was a mass of trucks, buyers, salesmen and packages 
of goods. I leaned casually against the wall to allow a heavily laden 



152 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

truck to pass, and incidentally spoke to a veteran salesman standing care- 
lessly in front of the store where he worked, puffing away at his pipe. 

"Business must be good," I remarked. "Good.'' I should say not," he 
tauntingly replied. "Business is rotten. Yesterday was the day for 
business. I got down at half past four o'clock and the buyers were hun- 
gry for stuff. I'm tlie apple man, you see. When I have got the goods 
and the buj^ers are out in full force, ready to trade I would like to be a 
twin brother to myself so I could do business fast enough. Say, yes- 
terday I sat out early and worked until about nine o'clock, and sold close 
to $5,000 worth, and if I could have been in two places at one time I 
would have nearly doubled the sales, I believe." 

"Well," said I, "you seem to be doing some business again today." 

"Here it's nearly noon and I have sold only a few hundred dollars 
worth to a gang of pikers today. It makes me want to go hang myself to 
hear you talk about business being good ! There's simply nothing doing 
today." 

I had got a severe set back in my ideas about the status of the market, 
but the jam had broken up — as all street jams must — so I sauntered 
along my way. 

Presently a dapper little red-haired man I knew darted up from a 
butter room in a big basement, and charged down towards me as if he 
were running to catch a train. 

"Hello! you move like there is a fire in your butter rooms, and you 
were going to turn in an alarm," I remarked as I shook hands with this 
salesman, whom I had known for years. 

"Nothing like that," he said catching his breath. "I have simply 
broken all records this morning selling butter. Have begun on the last 
thousand and to make $8,000 worth we have worked out toda3^ Am going 
up to tell the boss and ask for a raise in my salary. Business is the 
best I ever saw. Haven't had time to get a bite to eat. But it's great 
business, great business !" 

With this recitation I was nonplussed. The little salesman passed on 
and so did I, and I was led to wonder if there is not an application to the 
produce business of that old proverb about every dog having his day. 

In the course of fifteen minutes I had the words of two expert sales- 
men about conditions on the street. One had a great run the day be- 
fore, but there was nothing doing today, while the other pronounced busi- 
ness "great" and had broken all records for his house. Could it be that 
both of these men were right? Yes, so far as they were individually con- 
cerned, there is no doubt but each had told the truth as he saw it. They 
were selling different lines of stock, but were near neighbors. It is 



THE WIZARDS AT WORK 153 

just such occurrences as these that go to make a market place a wonder. 
Even the folks next door hardly have an idea what is taking place when 
someone else makes a killing. 

A record day or a record sale is something to be proud of. But they 
are being made every day. New records must eclipse all former deals. 
It takes these quasi-wizards to make them. They must have that which 
makes them differ from other records. They are all wonderful, and the 
men who make them are really wizards if we give them full credit for 
what they do and consider what it means to accomplish the results they 
do. 

But the real M'izards in the produce game are the men who fix up the 
plans and formulate campaigns that call for records. It is another case 
where the architect must be given credit instead of the builder. 

I have seen a wizard set down, and figuratively speaking, place every 
market in the country at his merc}'^ so far as a certain commodity was 
concerned. He was not operating so much directly as indirectly, for 
he had enlisted the co-operation of others in his plans to control the situa- 
tion. The market responded as he had intended ; soon there was a flow 
of telegrams and letters that would be worth going miles to see. Car 
lots were hurrying here and there like shoppers thronging a thorough- 
fare. They were despatched as had been anticipated, and there were 
jjrofits following the perfect plans that would almost produce heart fail- 
ure among the uninitiated. It was another case of a veritable magician 
in the produce field, for the results were no less wonderful than we see 
on the stage when some juggler astounds us with sleight-of-hand tricks 
that look as if the days of miracles are not only not passed, but only just 
begun. Of course, the tricks of the juggler are only tricks, and not 
real things like the produce wizards perform. 

And so these wizards in the great produce game are often quite com- 
monplace as we are accustomed to look at them, but usually a little elbow 
touch with them and a bit of sober reflection on our part will serve to 
convince us that wonderful things are happening in different branches of 
the business daily which are due to carefully outlined plans that seem 
to have all the earmarks of genius. 

Whether our wizards be in the orchard or field, in store or office, 
they are wonders nevertheless. You can hardly claim a bowing ac- 
quaintance with the produce public if you do not know a score or 
more of real wizards, not crooks who propose great things, but upright, 
energetic people who accomplish wonders if we pause and reflect upon 
what they are doing. 

I cannot refrain from the observation that any man of ordinary intelli- 



154 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

gence must admit tliat produce wizards are a godsend to the line of 
business in which they are engaged. Most of them would have made a 
startling success in any other line of business they might liave taken 
up, for they seem to jDOSsess a rare talisman that enables them to com- 
mand the mountains to stand forth and the mountains obey. 

It is worth while for everyone to consider the work of men who have 
a knack of doing common things in uncommon ways. There are lots of 
them in the trade, but if their number could be increased two-fold it 
would be an everlasting blessing to the produce business. 

After we reflect upon the success of some men we know it seems clear 
how they climbed up as they have. Careful preparation, close study of 
their business, taking advantage of conditions instead of individuals, and 
beyond everything else, hard work will most likely explain the sum total 
of the astounding success of the more conspicuous examples of success- 
ful produce men. 



CHAPTER XXII 



BETTER DAYS AHEAD 



People engaged in any and all branches of the produce businesis should 
be optimists. They should be given up to thjit philosophy whicli best 
enables them to bear their burdens, and endure their troubles with a 
tranquil spirit accompanied with a smile that shows thej'^ alwaj's hope 
for the best, and exhibiting that faith in the divine plan of the universe 
which expects all things will come out right in the end. 

Of course, I am not. suggesting the building of air castles or laying 
foundations on sand. What I am trying to do is to establish the ex- 
pediency of good cheer and a uniform, collective effort for the betterment 
of trade affairs. By far the majority of our troubles and problems are 
purely mental. Forsooth, the physical world shapes itself after the 
mental even as the clay is shaped by the potter's hand. Once the prod- 
uce public gets to thinking right it will be a great surprise how many fan- 
cied ills will take their flight into the realm of forgetfulness. 

But, of course, there are many real problems before the trade which 
we have pointed out in preceding chapters that will hardly yield to 
"mental treatment." Some of these problems will likely have to be 
passed on to the next generation, but those who are in position to make 
a faithful, intelligent effort at improving conditions should feel disgraced 
in the eyes of posterity if their plain duty is shirked in trying to bring 
about better days ahead. 

Just what should be done and how, is, in some cases at least, a difficult 
matter to determine. Trade conditions should be compared with condi- 
tions in years gone by. What has developed progress and brought about 
improvements heretofore may be regarded as examples for future changes. 

In some measure, I believe, the system on which the produce business 
will be conducted in the future will be somewhat automatically developed. 
Certain changes, of course, can only come from sheer force of conditions ; 
certain evils will have to be eliminated in the crucible if not abated 

155 



156 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

otherwise^ as some men seem slow to yield except to the fire test, making 
a hard and fast nuisance of themselves longer than would seem possible. 
However, every year sees more and more of the undesirable specimens 
weeded out of the produce trade. But it seems to me that bad 
methods and worse men are certainly decreasing compared with the 
past. Time alone can regulate such matters, and time works changes 
automatically. 

Because certain reforms move slowly men appear to get out of patience 
with them sometimes. This should not be so. All improvements cannot 
be wrought in a day. It often takes time and infinite pains to make 
even a slight change where a remedy is desired for an evil, or where an 
improved method is to be substituted for one that is clumsy and an- 
tiquated. Some things can be hastened and some others cannot. The sun 
has a certain time to rise and set, and the seasons must change at stated 
intervals. 

Produce is closely related to the rising and setting of the sun, and the 
recurrence of the seasons cuts a great figure in developing and handling 
of this line. Therefore, insofar as produce is intermingled witli tlie clock- 
work of the universe we can feel assured there are some things which 
will have to be changed slowly, if at all, for the best. 

Still, it is not too much to expect man, in his onward march extending 
control over the domain of nature, to evolve many wonders in tlie course 
of a few years that will probably exert some far reaching influences upon 
certain features of the produce business that have long been regarded as 
fixed as the laws of the Medes and Persians. A point in mind is the ap- 
plication of refrigeration to the produce field. What a marvelous change 
this one invention has brought about can hardly be appreciated without 
careful investigation. 

One thing sure is that the chief requisite of progress is for men every- 
where to abandon narrow views and wrong methods in business. There 
have been so many examples of the fact tliat men gain more from conduct- 
ing business on a broad gauge plan than from trying to operate after 
purely selfish methods, I deem it unnecessary to take up time showing 
wherein the firm or individual gains more in the long run by doing busi- 
ness on a live and let live policy, than by trying "to hog" everything in 
sight. 

Those in the produce trade who fail to recognize the modern spirit of 
co-operation, and who are not alive to the higher philosophy of frater- 
nalism, are out of their sphere, and will sooner or later be forced out 
of the van guard that is found marching onward and upward to the 
goal of progress, and they certainly will be lost from the phalanx that 
will achieve the highest success in the future. 






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BETTER DAYS AHEAD 157 

All lines of human endeavor have been affected by the wave of reform 
and the moral awakening that has spread over the country like wild fire 
the past few years^ 3^et among people in the trade there are those who 
are disposed to lament certain changes that stern conditions have dic- 
tated. Such people are not unlike old King Canute who was so un- 
sophisticated as to believe he could sweep back the waves of the sea with 
his broom. 

Changes are destined to come, and let us be fair enough to admit that 
most of these changes are in the nature of needed reforms, and that 
as a general rule they make for the betterment of the trade everywhere. 
The sensible thing for men to do when they find themselves face to face 
with changes that are inevitable, is to adjust themselves to such things 
as must come with the changes. I fear that certain men in some quarters 
have done themselves and their fellows irreparable harm by trying to 
oppose genuine progress. Now and then we find a man who knows the 
world moves, but who apparentl}' refuses to move himself. There is a 
touch of pathos in contemplating such a case in the produce trade or in 
any other line of business. 

Certainly there are abundant reasons to hope for better daj^s ahead 
in the produce business. All business is based on confidence. Men 
are learning to trust one another more than in years gone by, and the 
exercise of trust under proper safeguards always acts as a stimulus to 
honest dealing. The complex relations we find in the scheme of produce 
dealing today necessitates confidence between man and man. There are 
lots of cases, of course, where confidence is misplaced and losses follow. 
But what do we find in all other lines .f* Identically the same. Just be- 
cause there may be more cases of misplaced confidence than heretofore 
might be attributed to the fact that there are so many more opportunities, 
yea, necessities for reposing confidence in others. 

Despite certain opinions to the contrary, the majority of people in the 
produce trade want to be honest, and if they are given proper encour- 
agement they will not wilfullj'^ violate a trust. He who is heard to be 
constantly lambasting the trade for its moral shortcomings and lament- 
ing the fact that so many rogues are identified with the produce business, 
will bear a little watching himself. From actual observation I am forced 
to the conclusion that those who sometimes cry out the longest and loud- 
est against the whole trade as a race of crooks are themselves worse 
crooks than the people they assail. 

It means a great deal for a plaintiff to go into court with clean hands. 
"He is thrice armed who hath his quarrel just," is an ancient precept 
tliat has not suffered with age. Onlv those who are honest themselves 



158 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETIXG 

can ]io})e to M'icld a po.sitivc influence for good in effecting reforms and 
bringing about desired changes in the produce game that will put 
the business on a surer, safer and more jirofitable basis. 

Man in his individual capacity amounts to little nowadays. It is 
imperative that any and all organizations, looking to the betterment of 
trade conditions, should hold this fact constantly in mind. No body of 
men can ultimately succeed even in their organized capacity who champion 
a wrong, or who hope to make bad men good after a kind of hocus pocus 
process. Mere nmnbers count for little or nothing. Haste to spread a 
propaganda is liable to enlist certain types that ultimately thwart the 
basic motives on which the enterprise is founded. 

The right kind of co-operation can accomplish wonders, and the wrong 
kind can also do wonderful harm. But too much cannot be expected of 
co-operation even in this age when the theory itself is in danger of being 
worked to death. Let every man in the trade endeavor to promote con- 
fidence by being honest himself ; let him try to show others he is not 
after more than his legitimate gain, that he hopes others will reap the 
same degree of success he aims to achieve for himself, knoAving there is 
plenty to go aroimd for everybody if it is correctly distributed and prop- 
erly treated. Above all let him have the spirit that not only is willing to 
live and let live, but which desires to help the other fellow to live, and 
if no help is to be rendered, the constant resolution shall prevail to at 
least throw nothing in the way of a struggling fellow in the trade. 

How many men in the trade can truthfully say they are actuated by 
this spirit? It is certainly good gospel, isn't it? It makes for happiness, 
for the best waj' to be happy yourself is to make someone else happy. I 
am sorry that the converse of this is also true. We shall see not only a 
more pleasant, but a more prosperous business in handling fruits and 
produce when men cease to be narrow and selfish. 

The trade is growing better I know, but if I can hasten its progress 
a bit in the right direction, I shall feel amply rewarded for my work in 
this volume. The progress may be slow, but it is sure. What is right 
must prevail. 

Kingdoms rise and fall ; civilizations perish ; men come and go. but 
principles are eternal. It is about the inexorable principle that shines 
forth in the characters of men that I am talking. 

I am sure that the right principles are graduall}^ forcing their way 
to the top. It may take a crow bar here and there, — a jack screw now 
and then, and maybe an augur to get througli, but in the end the right 
lands on top and goes on triumphant. 

Yes, I admit this is all more or less general and possibly didactic. But 



BETTER DAYS AHEAD 159 

what does that matter? It is impossible to be s])eeilic, and point out 
what reforms, changes or plans are necessary to bring about the better 
days ahead we have in mind. But who can deny that my prescription 
is not the correct remedy as far as the symjJtoms are indicated ? There 
may be complications to be sure, but the remedy I have suggested will 
surely go a long way in bringing relief of the troubles that have stood 
in the way of real progress as trade conditions present themselves to me. 

Let us hope that there are better days ahead, and that our generation 
may be able to realize that changes for the good have come, and that the 
trade is always just as good or as bad as the people who make up the 
trade want it to be. When we earnestly desire and work for better days 
they will come as if by magic. 

I believe they are near at hand, too. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF THE TRADE SHOULD BE REVISED 

AND CORRECTED 

Doubtless all fairly intelligent people connected in one way or an- 
other with the produce business must realize the importance of having 
the trade appear in as good light as possible before the general public. 

Now and then we hear some such expression among people who should 
be more enlightened or charitable as "Oh, he is only a produce man" or 
"He is just a fruit dealer" or worse still "He is one of those tricky com- 
mission merchants" or of a horticultural meeting "they're a bunch of 
rubes." 

Those in the trade who have a modicum of self respect, and who are 
aware of the actual importance of the fruit and produce business should 
enter a polite, but firm protest against such sentiments, which 
are far more incisive than can be conveyed by the actual language used. 
Sentiments of this kind ]iave become far too numerous for the produce 
people to pass them unheeded. Manifestly, the general run of individuals 
have no definite idea of the produce business, except they get it from 
the corner fruit stand or from the huckster who perhaps disturbs their 
morning slumbers crying his wares to the clanking of a dinner bell, which, 
most likely is pitched in precisely the right key to provoke one's temper 
to the utmost. 

That any one of, a dozen different produce commodities involves several 
million dollars in its handling during a single season would strike many 
well informed citizens as a statement just a bit exaggerated. 

It would sound like a fairy tale to tell even to some "able financiers" 
that if all the chicken liens throughout the United States were put to 
laying they could in a comparatively short time produce enough eggs at 
the ordinary market prices to pay our national debt. 

A man who would attem])t to figure out the value of all the apples, 
potatoes, cabbage, onions, bananas, oranges, lemons, poultry, eggs, butter 

160 



PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF TRADE 161 

and the hundred and one kinds of other staple articles that are con- 
sumed by the American people, would be considered "bug house," to use 
a modern curbstone expression, for he would be in the same class with 
the misguided people trying to work out a solution of perpetual motion. 
Tlie one task would be about as easy as the other for any man to solve 
in a lifetime. 

But in this connection I want to say that the "produce problem" can 
be solved if taken hold of properly, and it should be taken hold of by 
no less an authority than the United States government. Until one ap- 
plies to the Department of Agriculture for some specific information 
relative to the annual volume handled, or the value of the total of some 
one kind of produce, every season like peaches or eggs, one hardly real- 
izes the lack of sentiment in the trade to bring conditions up to date, for 
it is the invariable rule that no sphere of human activity gets proper recog- 
nition at the hands of Uncle Sam until the component parts of the aforesaid 
"sphere" are sufficiently impressed with their importance to be worthy 
of, and to demand proper recognition. The Department of Agriculture, 
like other departments, is very apt to follow the line of least resistance, 
and this explains whv so little live, up-to-date information about the 
vast importance of produce affairs can be had of Uncle Sam. 

It is a severe criticism on the progressive spirit of produce people 
of all kinds that volumes upon volumes have been written on snakes, bugs, 
ticks, ants, cliff-dwellers, mound builders, extinct Indian tribes, humming 
birds, butterflies, etc. etc., ad infinitum, when apparently little or no 
effort has been made to collect and classify vital statistics relative to the 
value of some of our leading food products embraced in fruits and produce, 
and an effort made to keep such information in the realm of reasonable 
freshness for trade purposes. 

We are taught in ponderous tomes issued by Uncle Sam, couched in more 
or less scientific, Latin verbiage how to raise chickens, etc., but little or 
no intelligent effort is put forth to collect systematically the market value 
of the chickens raised in a given year, except possibly when the general 
census is taken and the report is probably stale and almost worthless for 
trade purposes before it is available. 

ISIany costly experiments have been made by scientific horticulturists 
and pomologists employed by the U. S. Agricultural Department to dis- 
cover and explain the best methods of fruit growing, which is certainly 
good as far as the policy goes, and should be encouraged and extended. 
But what is even more essential for the welfare of the fruit growers, prod- 
uce shippers and tlie trade generally, is for Uncle Sam to ascertain for 
example, the exact commercial apple acreage of the country, showing how 



162 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

much acreage of different varieties is in bearing, age of trees, and their 
general conditions from year to year. 

With some authentic information of this kind in hand, even approxi- 
mately correct and comparatively recent, it would be of incalculable help 
to the general public as well as the trade. Not only would it benefit the 
grower in aiding him to the proper selection of new trees most likely to 
show a profit etc. but it would also enlighten the dealers and buyers who 
are "in the dark" half the time as to what apples are really in the coun- 
try, and what prospects are for the near future with respect to the supply 
of the several varieties of apples. And apples are merely used for illus- 
tration, for what is true of this fruit will apply to nearly all other lines 
of produce. 

Nothing, I insist, would do more to put the produce business on the 
higher plane on which it should rest than proper treatment of the busi- 
ness by the United States government. Some efforts have been made of 
late by the Department of Commerce and Labor in the way of practical 
research into, and the collection of statistical data relating to different 
produce subjects, but they fail to cover the ground as it should be covered, 
and must be covered to be of much value. 

We are fairly safe in assuming that the government will never give the 
various subjects proper attention until the demand is made, and, of 
course, the demand must be insistent, — a kind of emergency call to get 
an important industry properly regulated and duly recognized so as 
to be on a basis with mining, stock raising, etc. 

ISIaybe it is no great wonder that the general sentiment relating to the 
trade is of an indifferent, if not an undesirable sort, since the trade has 
apparently never seen fit to help foster a better sentiment about itself. 
It is axiomatic that a man is usually taken by the world at his own price. 
The same applies to a collection of individuals, for sentiment is more 
easily generated, fostered, crystallized and expressed by an aggregation 
of people than by single individuals operating independently, if at all. 

I think no prolonged argument is necessary to prove that nothing would 
have a more salutary and far reaching effect in correcting in the mind 
of the general public some manifestly erroneous ideas about produce 
affairs than for Uncle Sam to issue some figures on different phases of 
the business from time to time, which would not only establish the im- 
portance of the produce business along with banking, manufacturing, 
transportation etc. but would be of great interest and enlightenment to the 
country at large. Sueli information would enable the general public to 
form a more intelligent idea of the probable future cost of food products, 
which is one of the prime factors in the cost of living, — itself a question 



PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF TRADE 163 

too little studied and understood nowadays with our complex mode of 
living and peculiar economic problems. 

It is needless to point out that such complete, correct information as 
I have in mind would be of as much, if not more direct benefit to the 
growers and shipjiers than to buyers and jobbers, although the benefits 
would be shared directly and indirectly by everybody in the trade. 

That a revised and corrected public sentiment about the trade is 
highly desirable cannot be doubted for a moment. Think what a diffei*- 
ence it would make, for instance, in the matter of loans from banks, if 
the i^roduce business were generally recognized as being second to none 
in importance when measured by dollars and cents. 

Also, think what a difference it would make in your interest rate and the 
security often required if you could tell your banker in a few sentences 
just what the supply is of a given commodity on which you seek a loan 
to carry your deal through, or if you could submit a table of authentic 
figures showing the actual volume of and average annual profits in such 
articles heretofore. As a general rule, bankers are skittish of ventures 
that lack some substantial element of certainty when a proposition for 
accommodation comes before them. 

If the best informed poultry men or cabbage dealer in the country were 
asked off hand by his banker why he felt sure the commodity in which 
he is specially interested is good or bad for an investment, his reply 
would necessarily be indefinite and probably incorrect at that from an 
up-to-date business standpoint, which absolutely requires specific data. 

We have such a wonderful country, so full of so many different kinds 
of things that even those who pretend to specialize in one particular thing 
are totally unable to keep pace with trade matters so as to be reasonably 
sure of their ground. Then too, a man's judgment is so often badly 
warped by his own interests. A man may fancy he has learned about 
all there is in his line that is worth while, and generally when he reaches 
such a conclusion it is about time for him to retire, for his day of use- 
fulness is well nigh past. The very complexity and enormity of the prod- 
uce business puts it at once beyond the range of any individual, or asso- 
ciation of individuals short of the general government, so far as 
keeping in touch with the entire country is concerned. 

The sooner the trade wakes up to the imjiortance of awakening the 
general government that it is higli time tlie public and the trade be given 
the facts, and as nearly the whole of the facts as possible, about the 
leading articles of fruits and produce in the most up-to date, authentic 
fas] lion, the better it will be for the entire country. 

And why not? Our country is rich beyond the dreams of avarice. 



164 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Every year Congress appropriates funds for nearly every conceivable 
purpose, running all the way probably from a campaign of warfare re- 
quiring our soldiers to shoot ideas of democracy into a lot of half naked 
orientals, clear through the gamut of expenditures to some subtle astro- 
nomical calculations having to do with the probable effect of March winds 
on the planet Mars. 

In short, the country spends money like a drunken sailor for providing 
information about nearly everything else you can mention. Almost every 
other industry gets proper recognition, but in the case of the different 
kinds of produce I suppose most of us in the trade have been half afraid 
we would be called presumptuous upstarts if a request had been made 
for Uncle Sam to open a general account for the several departments of 
the fruit and produce business to keep track of the expenditures in try- 
ing to help the trade and the public generally to figure out how high the 
cost of living may go if the business of growing and marketing produce 
is not made to rest upon more correct data than is now available. 

The benefit of such information as the United States government could 
and should collect and distribute relating to produce affairs every year, 
must be quite evident, especially when viewed from the standpoint of 
opening up new territory for marketing various products. At present 
every firm or every shipper has to go to considerable pains to find out 
as best they can what different markets require, and how fruits and prod- 
uce should be prepared and put on the market. Much of the people's 
time and money must needs be sacrificed in unnecessary experiment of 
this kind, and hundreds are going ahead making the same old mistakes 
every year. 

Understand, I am not taking the absurd position that Uncle Sam should 
be expected to do what is ne'cessary for the individual to perform in 
transacting his business, but my plea is for the general government ta 
do that which will help the individual or firm to better handle his busi' 
ness, and which assistance in the very nature of the case can be sup- 
plied best by the national government. 

I am fully aware that I am taking desperate chances at being severely 
criticised, both by the politicians who may have to explain why they 
cannot arrange sufficient appropriations to carry out the suggestions I 
have made, and also by that contingent in the fruit and produce busi- 
ness, who are estimable gentlemen in their way but who resent any in- 
trusion from people out of the trade who are disposed to tamper with 
things. 

As to the politicians who vote the appropriations: they can find the 
means when the time comes. As to those in the trade who might look 



PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF TRADE 165 

upon the plan for the general government to take some cognizance of 
produce matters as an "unwarranted assumption," I have only the pity 
and commiseration we should always entertain for those who are so fool- 
ish as to stand in their own light and who apparently aim to keep the 
light from shining upon others. 

Naturally, the necessity for the work to be undertaken by Uncle Sam 
must be made clear, and the demand must be properly framed and pre- 
sented. Just what lines should be covered first is hard to say, as there is 
so much to do that it could only be handled piece by piece. Much of the 
investigation will be tedious and costly, but the rank and file should be 
collected and classified with comparative ease and without too much 
cost. 

By all means, at least a beginning should be made by the general gov- 
ernment to give proper treatment to the fruit and produce public, and 
since this industry has been so badly neglected in the past it would seem 
reasonable that a double portion ought to be forthcoming as a sort of 
atonement for past treatment of the trade. 

Once the truth is known in regard to the extent and importance of 
the fruit and produce business it is a foregone conclusion that not nearly 
so many men in the trade will be asked to turn out of the road while 
some toy magnate or lottery promoter passes by. The business public, 
as well as the general public, will like produce folks better, and think 
more kindly of the produce interests when the people in the trade realize 
the estimate placed upon the business by the larger percentage of the 
general public is wrong, and it is resolved once for all to have the usual 
erroneous estimate revised and corrected. 

Some action of the nature I have indicated is almost sure to be taken 
within the near future. The trade has been asleep on this subject for 
a long while. Now that day is breaking I hope we shall see our people 
waking up. 



CHAPTER XXIV 



BUTTER 



So much has been written on the technical side of butter making and 
the creamery business generally that the author feels inclined to refrain 
from any comment whatever on that feature of the butter business, even if 
he were capable of adding anything new to the subject by undertaking a 
technical article. 

Besides, our concern in this chapter as elsewhere is chiefly with the 
practical as opposed to the theoretical, and with the marketing instead 
of the actual growing or manufacturing of different kinds of produce. 
Therefore, our attention is centered mainly on the handling of butter 
from the time it leaves the butter maker until it reaches the consumer, 
which in itself is, indeed, an interesting as well as an intricate subject 
for investigation and study. 

Beyond doubt the butter business is one of the most exact and clean 
cut of all the various specialties in the produce field. Based on an 
approximately accurate system of grading by points involving such fea- 
tures as color, body, flavor, salt, package, etc. the expert can score a line 
and establish a grade with almost the certainty that the assayer de- 
termines the commercial value of metallic ores. To the uninitiated a 
scoring contest looks like a stupid undertaking, for the average person 
outside the trade seems to be imbued with the idea that "butter is butter." 

That the scoring contests held in different sections of the country from 
time to time are beneficial in an educational way, and that the almost 
exact system of grading and selling butter in vogue all over the country 
is the slow outgrowth of many years of careful experimenting, and, there- 
fore, well and logically founded, can hardly be questioned for a moment. 

Whatever else may be said of the present scheme of handling butter 
it remains quite clear that there is much to commend in the system that 
butter makers and dealers have worked out, and which is in use with 
only slight modifications everywhere in America. The reasonable ex- 
actness in establishing grades enables the trade to buy and sell the va- 

166 



BUTTER 167 

I'iou.s gT.-idfs of butter on a basis of their real market value, jjrovided they 
do uot confuse })riee and value too much. 

Among buyers in the leading markets grades are represented for what 
they actually are, and prices are mostly based on the relative merits of 
the grades being bought and sold. Creamery firsts or extra firsts could 
hardly be run out as specials or extras, unless the lines be very fine and 
the market firm with a scarce supply. In most cases the buyer looks 
at a line that is represented as specials, extras, extra firsts, firsts, seconds, 
"packing," etc., and it is merely a question of first, being satisfied as 
to the quality or the grade, and second, getting buyer and seller together 
on a price. And if a line is represented and sold at a price, assuming a 
certain grade of certain quality, and if further inspection of a car lot, 
for instance, showed the stock to be not up to the grade represented it 
usually is the case that a second insjjection is called for, and a more 
careful examination is required so as to make sure what is the actual 
grade and quality of the butter in question. 

It should be stated for the benefit of those not familiar with the system 
of modern butter inspection that even in the inspection of a car lot of 
about 400 tubs it is generally required that only a certain number of 
packages, usually running from 10 to 20 tubs be inspected in order to fix 
the grade and quality of the whole line. 

To inspect a tub of butter a "trier," which is a long concave blade, 
is inserted or bored through the tub from top to bottom or from the side 
of a "stripped" tub, and a round, peg-like block is taken out and after- 
wards fitted back into place when the inspector is through with his in- 
spection of the sample, — smelling, tasting, observing the grain, etc. 

In handling undergrades such as packing stock, roll butter, dairy butter, 
etc. it is often the case that a casual inspection is all that is required to 
show what grade the stock must take, but upon a closer inspection a 
trier is necessary to go down to see what is in the middle and in the 
bottom of the package. 

But these tests have to do only with the practical side of scoring, and 
it is necessary to go into chemical analysis to determine the amount of 
moisture, butter fat, etc. contained in a sample of butter in cases where 
they must be ascertained. 

Of late years a great deal has been heard on the subject of moisture 
in butter; excessive moisture over the sixteen per cent prescribed by 
federal regulations has caused the Internal Revenue department to be 
on the alert, and no little trouble has resulted to those who have been 
careless in observing the law on this subject. 

No one who has followed the butter deal carefullv can hesitate in 



168 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

saying that the effect of existing federal laws relative to moisture has 
had a salutary effect on the butter trade generally. A few years 
ago the best buttermaker for the creamery was the one who could carry 
out most neatly the "irrigating process/' and put out the maximum of 
water with the minimum of butter. 

It was plain to see that the end of this sort of business would have 
to come sooner or later. Not only did the excess moisture put a premium 
on dishonesty, but it put serious obstacles in the way of an honest man's 
making a dollar. Dealers who were stocked up heavily found it a hard 
job to sell "irrigated" lines of stock either in domestic or foreign markets. 
There is no telling the time, the money and the peace of mind that have 
been exhausted and wasted trying to move butter that was "doped" up 
to sell, and those who made it purposely with too much water in it were 
just as much a swindler as the professional con man whose favorite pas- 
time is found in working off gold bricks on verdant hayseeds. 

But the moisture question is still an unsolved problem when viewed 
from every angle. Opinions vary widely as to just how moisture should 
be handled in different localities in different seasons. Authorities are a 
unit, however, that much excess over sixteen per cent is showing more 
water than is really necessary or desirable, but some maintain that the 
rigid adherence to the sixteen per cent and less is an unreasonable hard- 
ship on the trade. Still it is difficult to see why the law should not be 
complied with since its object is for the safe guarding and improvement 
of the butter industry at large, and it looks as if federal authorities mean 
business when they say the law must be obeyed. There is much less 
trouble over this moisture question than a few years ago. 

Efforts were made a year or two ago by representatives of the Dairy 
Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to procure samples of 
butter coming on the larger markets, and proceed to collect the tax of 
ten cents per pound levied on "adulterated" butter if samples showed an 
excess of moisture. But when the matter was put up squarely before fed- 
eral authorities at Washington some months ago it was decided that the 
creamerymen, and not the dealers in the distributing centers, should be 
held accountable for excess moisture. In the first place, if buyers and 
distributers should be held to account for moisture it would put them to 
no end of red tape and useless expense if they should undertake to be 
sure of the moisture in all stock they might handle. Besides, no analysis 
except the "official" tests are recognized by Uncle Sam, and it has been 
argued, therefore, that if government inspection must be had and must 
be final, that it should take place at the creamery where the butter is 
made, and the butter maker should be held to account if too much watel 




PATRONS DELIVERING CREAM AT A MINNESOTA CREAMERY 




INTERIOR OF A CREAMERY AT OOSTCAMP^ BELGIUM 



BUTTER 169 

is in the butter shipped or sold by his creamery or factory. Undoubtedly 
this contention is based on sound logic, and it looks as if the policy is to 
be carried out it must result in a comprehensive system of creamery in- 
spection that will tax to the utmost even Uncle Sam to fully execute the 
undertaking. But faithful government officials have done a great deal to 
help the creamerymen in this respect. 

One positive benefit coming from government regulation of the moisture 
question has been to put the butter business on a more sure foundation, 
for it has enabled the trade to be more certain what a tub of butter 
shall contain. Of course, there are limitations to the possible benefits 
that may be reasonably expected from a rigid federal inspection and 
supervision of the moisture percentage and other matters relating to the 
industry, but it cannot be successfully denied that any remedy short 
of the regulations enforced by the federal government will ever be satis- 
factory and effective. At most, state laws are *a joke when it comes to 
interstate traffic, and it is generally known that by far the larger part 
of the butter produced in one state is consumed in some other state that 
cannot possibly exercise control over the manufacture of a commodity 
made outside its own borders. 

Again, there is always some difficulty in having local authorities take 
proper interest in the enforcement of laws designed to benefit citizens 
of some other remote section or city. In some states the dairy and food 
commissioners have rendered themselves very unpopular because they 
have insisted that creameries, cheese factories, etc. should be kept clean 
and in a passably sanitary condition. When there is opposition to the 
efforts of state officers who are disposed to discharge their duty as they 
see it to the general public, and when petty politics are allowed to inter- 
vene to render void the efforts of men trying to promote the principles 
of real progress, of decency and cleanliness, to say nothing of square 
business dealings, it looks as if any fair minded man must concede that 
Uncle Sam has not only the right, but a distinct duty to perform in the 
butter and cheese field in order to secure clean methods and honest 
business dealings. 

Still it is no more from the standpoint of enforcing proper regulations 
that the general government should take an interest in the dairy industry, 
than to lend encouragement for further progress in these branches which 
have made wonderful strides during the past few years, and which will 
develop more wonders in the near future if the right campaign is mapped 
out and followed. 

New territory is constantly being opened where profitable dairying 
can be carried on, and the information as to such essentials as will assist 



170 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

in getting the industry on its feet, and sucli hel}) of a general cliaraeier 
as may be needed, can be .supplied best by and tlirough proper federal 
influence and assistance. 

Our national government has heretofore been fairly liberal with the 
money appropriated to improve and foster dairying, and much good has 
been acomplished thereby, both to the industry itself and to the country 
at large. However, much more money will be necessary to develop the 
most efficient dairying, and the butter and cheese dealers should assist 
in keeping this matter prominently before the public, and especially in 
the minds of those who make up the appropriations, — the United States 
Senators and Congressmen. The same may be said to apply to state 
legislators also. 

While we have under consideration the butter question from a national 
standpoint, and the general effects of federal laws on the industry, some 
comment on oleomargarine, alias butterine, may not be wholly out of 
jilace. Undoubtedly, oleo is the bogey man of the creamery business. 
It is the skeleton in the closet that is threatened when little boys are 
fretful, refuse to go to sleep, and delight to keep people awake late at 
night. 

Oleo is the scapegoat, the square of the circle, the veritable bete noir 
of the butter trade. While the writer knows full well that butterine is 
always a factor that must be reckoned with, he feels sure that the trade 
at large has been subject to paroxysms of fear that King Oleo would put 
people out of business, when there has hardly been cause for serious 
apprehension. This is especially true since the passage of laws several 
years ago providing for a tax of ten cents per pound on colored oleo, 
and a quarter cent tax on the uncolored product. 

The author knows he will be criticised for the statement, but he is 
one of a fairly large number of people in and out of the trade who 
recognize that there was never a more glaring piece of class legislation 
in this country than the above mentioned oleo tax. Instead of fixing the 
tax as it is, a severe penalty should have been provided for those who 
might be caught selling colored oleo for genuine creamery butter. 

Talk about the federal tax on oleo to prevent imposition on the dear 
public ! Bah ! What did we see every blessed day in the produce busi- 
ness before the Pure Food law was passed, but a continued round of 
deception and fraud so far as the general public was concerned.'' 

Butter was sold for "Elgin butter" that probably was never in a thou- 
sand miles of Elgin. True enough, it may have been real butter, but 
the point remains that it was fraudulently represented to be what it was 
not. Of course, it takes an Elgin butter man to get the full point of 



BUTTER 171 

the joke, for he e;iii tell you how soinehody was trading on the reputation 
of his product and coining money on the quality of tlie "Elgin butter" 
which he Jiad not. 

No little agitation has been heard the past few years on the part of 
the average consumer for the repeal of the government tax on oleo, be- 
cause prices have been so high for creamery butter. This is worth bear- 
ing in mind and we shall probably have occasion to refer to the subject 
later on in the course of this chapter, and maybe have it forced upon 
our unwilling attention eventually outside this work in a way that will 
compel us to recognize that the public will have its way in the end when 
a subject of such vital interest is at issue. If oleomargarine is properly 
put up and sold for just exactly what it is I believe it can do no harm 
to those who have good stomachs and want to save the difference in price 
between it and real butter. 

The attention of the butter trade all over the country has been called 
to the question of "premiums" and fictitious quotations the past few 
years, and it is hoped that the system of handling butter will someday 
be purged of this evil, for I have no hesitancy in calling it an evil, and 
also going on record with the statement that anything over or beyond 
a straight, bona fide price quoted on the actual buying and selling basis 
in a given market is wrong, and such premiums are a reflection either 
on the judgment of men responsible for them, or else a severe criticism on 
the morals of the committees or exchanges that tolerate them. 

It is not enough to say that "everybody knows about them, so what 
is the difference?" That is not the question. It is an issue between right 
and wrong. In the old graft ridden days of corrupt transportation the 
so-called freight rebates were "known" by a majority of the large 
shippers, and it was often asked "What is the difference?" An enlight- 
ened public sentiment in this country will not often take time to answer 
such questions except with a knock-out blow, and I agree that the quicker 
the blow is administered the better, especially for the public generally, 
for he that essays to foist a corrupt practice and offer as his excuse the 
threadbare argument that "everybody knows about it and does it," is a 
moral reprobate who needs a severe jolt to show him he is a nuisance 
if not an enemy towards the general public, as well as towards the 
decent element in the line of business in which he is engaged. 

The butter trade will not soon forget the strenuous campaign in New 
York a few years ago over the legality of fictitious butter quotations, and 
the scathing arraignment of premiums in the decision rendered by Judge 
Jaycox in making permanent an injunction against "premiums" will stand 
as an epoch making event in establishing the fact that a bona fide quota- 
tion is the only one worthy of the name. 



172 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

The opinion of the court that the butter quotation committee of the 
New York Mercantile Exchange had made quotations "deliberate, wilful, 
intentional, fraudulent and systematic" stands today as a blot on the 
escutcheon of that great market, and it should be stated in passing that 
other large markets have been subject to the same kind of manipulations. 
Let us hope the time will come when the prices quoted in the leading 
markets will represent bona fide trading prices. 

The better element in the trade has come to realize that it is just as 
easy to quote the market right as to "muddy the water" with a fictitious 
"official" price designed rather to conceal than reflect the real market con- 
ditions. It may be taken as a sure evidence of corrupt practice in any 
market where there is a studied effort to establish quotations either above 
or below the actual buying and selling prices. 

Fictitious quotations which have been common from time to time in 
the past have naturally given rise to gossip about a so-called butter trust. 
While there have been unmistakable evidences now and then of manipula- 
tion in butter prices, it is doubtful if anything like a well defined trust 
or monopoly has ever been or ever will be successfully formed to control 
the entire butter business. 

In the first place, butter is a commodity that is not capable of being 
monopolized as we understand trust practice nowadays. An actual mo- 
nopoly must needs control both the source of supply and the means of 
distribution. Although there are some enoimous concerns operating in 
the creamery field, resulting from combinations of late years, and which 
are alleged to have put some small competitors here and there out of 
business, yet it must be admitted that these same big fellows have their 
troubles, for they are powerless to deal with certain conditions that arise 
now and then which make them losers, apparently at their own game. 
At least, there is a healthy competition among the big creameries in 
getting milk in different sections of the country. They also find it hard 
sledding against the small creameries sometimes. 

Decidedly, there are too many creameries operating independently of 
each other to make it possible for any one clique to gain absolute control 
of the production of butter, and it is a plain case to those who know the 
game that no man or set of men, however wise, wealthy or influential, 
can ever hope to dictate indefinitely what the markets shall or shall not 
do, nor have they anything like complete control over the means of dis- 
tribution. The proposition is too big and altogether too intricate to 
make the butter market follow a given course at will. Besides, it would 
take a pile of money that would stagger the imagination to control butter 
for a period long enough to make it permanent, and it is certain nobody 



BUTTER 173 

in the produce business has ever yet displayed the rare ability to get 
together a sufficient sum to handle the entire make of even a single 
season. 

It is easy to sec that the speculative nature of butter makes it an un- 
inviting venture among most monied men who seek a safe investment and 
preferably one that promises a sure return, though that return may be 
-small. Butter is by no means a sure thing so far as profits go. In fact, 
it often loses money. 

When we noted in a former chapter that the entire produce field is, 
at best, a line in which the speculative element enters largely, we might 
have cited butter as a good example of this fact. However, butter is 
perhaps no better and no worse as a speculative proposition than other 
produce commodities, although butter is at times as sensitive as wheat 
or stocks, and it has made legions happy or miserable according as they 
have hit it right or wrong, just as we observe in the grain pit or on 
the stock exchange. 

But it is very doubtful if there are many safer or surer commodities 
in which to invest on an average nowadays than good No. 1 packing 
stock when bought in the spring or early summer at the right price, as 
we have generally seen the supply below the demand for the past several 
years, and from present indications it will not be in excess of the re- 
quirements so as to cause anything like heavy losses in the near future 
unless some radical change should upset the butter deal in an unexpected 
way. Many cases are on record the past few years where good packing 
stock has showed a profit of from ten to twenty-five per cent within ninety 
days, and any investment which can do this well at making money even 
lialf the time must be given credit for possessing many points in its favor. 

Of course, when packing stock makes money it is usually true that 
creamery stock is also making money, but this does not necessarily follow. 

Butter has become so much a staple food product these days that men 
are sometimes trying to take an impossible chance on it as a speculative 
proposition. When prices are marked too high and business stagnates, 
butter can easily cause trouble. By expecting too much of the deal, 
some men precipitate their own undoing by trying to get the uttermost 
farthing, instead of being willing to take a fair profit and allow someone 
else to get part of the reward that comes when there is a favorable trend 
in the market. 

After all is said and done it remains clear when butter is looked at 
purely from a speculative standpoint that it has many advantages when 
compared closely with some other produce commodities. The one fea- 
ture that enables holders of butter to "carry it over" in storage until the 



174 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

second year cannot be said of a number of otlier articles that claim the 
attention of .speculators in produce. When butter is frozen solid and 
carried under proper conditions it is difficult to say how long it may be 
kept in good shape, certainly for 18 or 24- months. 

However^ it is the usual custom to close out blocks of storage butter 
before they have been under refrigeration more than a year. Those who 
follow the game, figure that it is best to clean up before the season is 
over and begin anew with fresh stock every summer. This, of course, 
is only good business judgment, for the matter of storage charges, in- 
terest on money and increased insurance enter into prospective profits 
on lots of butter that have been held under refrigeration until the second 
season or longer, and it should be borne in mind the quality of butter is 
not improved for the long keeping. 

Pursuant to our aim to steer clear of whatever may be of a purely 
technical nature relating to butter making and the creamery business 
generally, I feel that I should not purposely deviate at this juncture, 
but the question of hand separators is one of such widespread interest 
that I cannot ignore some comment on the subject, although I have no 
disposition to take up unnecessary time and space handling the matter. 

To make a long story short, hand separators are here to stay. They 
may have caused a useless waste of cream, they may have caused endless 
worry and needless expense, they may yet cause a complete readjustment 
of the whole butter business. But the fact remains that the number of 
hand separators is constantly increasing and their use is now well nigh 
universal. The author has made an impartial, and he hopes, a fairly 
intelligent study of this question the past few years, and he is of the 
firm conviction that as hand separators are better imderstood they will 
be better liked. 

True it is, their use in some localities has given rise to a poorer grade 
of butter owing to uneven quality as compared with the product of the 
"whole milk" plant, but if we go a little more deeply into the subject 
we are bound to decide that possibly the fault does not lie in the hand 
separators so much as it does with those who use and operate them. A 
case in point which will serve to illustrate my idea is found in the ac- 
counts we read of the use of mahogany wood when the first logs were 
sent from the West Indies to England many years ago, where the cabinet 
makers and wood workers declared the wood too hard to ever be cut 
into lumber, and that it dulled their tools so that it was impossible ever 
to do anything with it. But the course of events proved that this view 
of the possibilities of mahogany were premature and ill advised. 

In the nature of the case a new system in the handling of cream under 



BUTTER 175 

such widely different conditions as we find in various sections of this 
country, must take a long while to go into successful operation. Those 
who are face to face with the separator problem should make the best 
of conditions, and strive to educate the individual farmer and his wife 
and family how best to use the separator so as to produce the best results. 
Already there are many cases where much has been done in an educa- 
tional way, and we find more and more satisfactory results are coming 
from hand separators properly used. 

That there are signal advantages possessed by the "whole milk" process 
over the hand separator system no butter man "will deny, but the hand 
separators and the centralizing plant have made such headway of late 
years that it seems as if the old system is doomed to extinction. And 
if money is really lost to the industry we may rest assured that methods 
will be gradually changed and modified until the standard of quality in 
the butter produced will be improved so as to obtain the maximum returns 
from the minimum amount of cream and labor. A careful, scientific study 
of the treatment and handling of separator cream after a few more years' 
experience may develop some startling results. To say the least, the 
field is an inviting one for experiment and research. 

Because of the advent of the hand separator and its widespread use 
with more or less satisfactory results to the butter trade at large, the 
question has been raised a thousand times: Will not the high and low 
grades of butter be eliminated entirely? It must be confessed that for a 
long while it has appeared as if a definite answer must be made to this 
question it would have to be answered in the affirmative. But as we 
have just said, the future of the hand separator is a sealed book that 
no man is yet able to pry open and read. 

It would, indeed, be a sad commentary on the trade to allow the hap- 
hazard methods formerly in vogue to continue, and he is blind to the 
real situation who supposes that the intelligent farmer and stockman and 
their industrious, intelligent wives will rest satisfied with fifty or seventy- 
five cents on the dollar for their cream when they might as well have the 
whole dollar by proper treatment of cream and using every means to 
make it fresh, pure and of the highest quality when delivered to the 
creamery to be made into butter. 

This is the real solution of the problem and the real answer to the 
question that has been raised. If the cream is right and all of it from 
every farmer is right, it is not far to see that the butter will be nearly 
right also, — at any rate, much better than when made of cream of varv- 
ing age, quality and butter fat. Centralizers are gradually working out 
better systems for using this cream taken from widely separated districts. 



176 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Now, I hope that I shall not be charged with being an apostle of the 
hand separator, for I have no interest in the world in their manufacture 
or sale, and my only object in even referring to them at all in this work 
is because any article purporting to cover the butter situation in this 
country would be maliciously incomplete to leave out entirely hand 
separators and centralizer plants. I repeat that they have come to 
stay and those who are compelled to deal with them and their users should 
strive to improve both, and also devise plans to bring the present system 
up to the highest possible efficiency, for the constant aim for higher 
standards and better methods is the secret of success both in making 
and selling butter. 

No one change in the system of handling butter in the last generation 
has been more far reaching than the scheme of putting up prints. 

When we come to think about it, the only wonder is that it was not 
done long before. The butter man who is wise is always looking for a 
plan to make the name of his product a household word, to advertise his 
brand so that people will ask for it when they go to buy. It is a hard 
job to do this with tub butter under the old system where the retail 
grocer scooped out and weighed what every individual customer wanted. 

Besides, all tubs look about the same, and the foxy grocer who might 
have a tub of real extras today and sold a customer who might come a 
few days later to get "some of the same butter I got before," would have 
a soft snap to charge the identical price for a bit of seconds which can 
be, and often is substituted in such cases, for be it understood the average 
retailer is not in business for his health and there are many of them 
who are fond of this kind of diversion. 

But the pound print that is put out by a reputable wholesaler or the 
creamery itself, and which aims at building up a reputation for quality 
will most likely make their goods run about the same on the second or 
third round as on the first. 

It takes a pound print to make butter susceptible to advertising, and 
we have too many phenomenal successes in popular pound prints to 
entertain any doubt about the possibilities in advertising butter. And 
when butter is properly advertised it causes more butter to be used. Those 
who have used the pound print system know full well it is absolutely im- 
perative that the standard of quality be always maintained. The brand 
must be protected and it is next kin to suicide to a brand to lower its 
quality, for once the public finds it is being cheated, confidence is de- 
stroyed and the value of a brand is gone forever. 

The main reason given by the moving spirit in the leading pound 
print butter concern in this country as being responsible for the enor- 



BUTTER 177 

mous trade the concern has worked up, is that the management has 
never departed from its original policy to put up the best butter in the 
best shape and get paid for the service. Once get a good brand and 
put up a good grade and your battle for success in handling prints is 
half won. 

Before leaving the subject I desire to say that any man who wants to 
succeed in the butter business must be up-to-date and progressive. It 
is exacting in every phase. The work is sometimes arduous, but rarely 
distasteful. It is scientific to a degree, an alluring game either from 
the creamery or the marketing point of view. Decidedly, it is not an 
avocation for mollycoddles who are looking for easy money or soft snaps, 
or for the commercial pirates who are out for the coin and who do not 
care especially how or where they get it. 

Butter has been made and sold well, but I expect improvements in both 
branches of the trade, and with good red blood and trained gray matter 
behind the different departments concerned in its making and selling we 
may safely depend on some pleasant surprises in the future. 



CHAPTER XXV 



EGGS 



If the true history of the system of handling eggs could be written 
it would read like a fairy tale. Forsooth, a story replete with elves and 
grottoes and with moonbeams playing hide and seek over a placid lake, 
with a Cinderella frolicking with the fairies, could be no more entranc- 
ing to one who has followed closely the ins and outs, and the ups and 
downs of a season's record of the egg deal during any given year, at 
least, in the past decade. 

It is not exaggerating to say that no less imagination is required to 
enter into a full understanding of the stories in a juvenile fairy book than 
is necessary to grasp the variable fortunes of the prosaic commodity 
under consideration. 

However, I hope no staid egg man will be so unkind as to accuse me 
of trying to belittle his honored calling by suggesting the comparison 
cited above, although if someone is disposed to find fault with me for 
so doing I have but to declare that not a few times have I mused over 
the striking similarity between a downright fairy tale and the unsub- 
stantial shadow of prospective profits in a heavy load of high-priced 
eggs that hang trembling in the balance so delicately poised that even 
an excited breath sends the whole load down with a crash that makes 
strong men shudder and all but weep as the simple child when he suffers 
the first rude awakening from his illusion about the capers of Santa 
Claus or Mother Goose. 

But why open this chapter on eggs with a dissertation on the seamy 
side? Wherefore this talk about fairies? Shall I make the bold con- 
fession that I candidly believe eggs arc tlie most speculative commodity 
in the whole realm of produce? If so, I sluill spare further suspense 
and will take you into my confidence so as to make a short out to the 
meat of our subject by sayitig I believe tlit-y are. 

Obviously, the gist of my argument on this matter must be reserved 

■ 178 



EGGS 179 

until our story progresses further. Perhaps I should say that the argu- 
ments assert themselves as the story unfolds, for it is my purpose to 
write a plain, unvarnished tale that will be so blunt as not only to 
call a spade by its right name, but also to call an egg an egg, and 
also to call a fool a fool. 

However, for fear my motives may be misconstrued I must say a word 
or two about the men who handle eggs, and who may unjustly accuse 
me of making faces at the whole fraternity unless some sort of explana- 
tion is presently forthcoming. 

And right here we strike a snag when we try even to take a birds-eye 
view of the complex aggregation of humanity that gathers, buys, ships, 
stores, sells or gambles in these ovoids of food that are produced in nearly 
every nook and corner of this broad country, and which enter so largely 
into the daily food of the nation as to be considered a necessity in the 
hovel and palace alike. 

Behold this concourse if you can sweep a continent at a glance with 
your mind's eye! Noble spectacle this. It embraces the housewives on 
a thousand thousand farms, the country store-keepers at as many cross- 
roads or villages, and a legion of people who make a business of concen- 
trating lots of five and ten to four hundred cases for shipment tn 
the larger market centers. It embraces, if you please, a throng of good 
business men who know little else and study practically nothing but 
eggs, and who usually turn their special information and experience to 
good account, for, be it understood, some men have made and are still 
making money buying and selling eggs in a sane business way. 

Then too, in your concourse would be a horde of speculators who look 
like ordinary egg dealers, who would be found on closer inspection to be 
more like lunatics in a plunging match than plain business men operating 
on good money in handling a legitimate business. 

As subsidiary factors you would have to get a line on the bankers who 
finance the deals, the storage men who take care of the enormous amount 
of eggs kept for six or eight months under refrigeration with the expec- 
tation of a profit, and also the railroad men who look after the shipping 
of carlots or less from one point to another from the time the eggs are 
first collected at initial points until they reach the markets where they 
are consumed. 

A close observer would perhaps find some others who could establish 
their right to stand up and be counted with the big egg trade, for it 
easily includes all colors, creeds and conditions of humanity. Any 
enumeration of the egg people in toto would probably include the polling 
list in many a bailiwick without the slightest change, and would also 



180 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

permit the neighborhood sewing circle in some sections to be thrown in 
for good measure. 

Is it any wonder that in such a concourse we find radical differences 
of opinion^ an utter lack of sympathy for one another's welfare, and an 
absolute disregard for the broken bones and cracked heads of the un- 
fortunate players who fall by the wayside, victims, commercially speaking, 
of the ruthless mass on tackle plays or the revolving wedges as in the 
old style of foot-ball? 

Is it not to be expected, may I ask, if this bunch, out for the coin 
and intoxicated with the passion for a "big killing," would not occa- 
sionally run riot and bring up with a crash that sends the whole load 
down in a jiffy? 

Yes, I frankly acknowledge that in opening this chapter I have so far 
taken the reader along a pathway over the ragged mountain-sides of egg- 
dom in order to secure attention, as we seem invariably to feel a keener 
interest in the scenery if we first behold the vast stretches of mountain 
peaks, and especially if we view the prospect at sunrise from some 
craggy point with the eagle soaring between us and the peaceful valley 
below. 

Verily, there are counterparts of my crude word picture to be found 
in the handling of eggs. Some, of course, have observed the game only 
from the peaceful quiet of the valley where the sunshine and the birds 
are wont to come, and who follow the even tenor of their way like ants 
about the base of Mt. Everest, unconscious of the majestic peak tower- 
ing above. Then too, others see the alluring features of the business 
only from the elevated places and seemingly prefer a pair of wings or a 
balloon from which to handle their trades, — apparently oblivious of the 
fact that eggs are no less subject to economical laws than balloons are 
to the law of gravitation. 

At any rate, the egg business as we find it today is a well developed 
specialty in the produce field. That there is sufficient encouragement to 
make a specialty of a commodity that requires so many people of so 
many kinds to look after its various ramifications is proof enough that 
the volume and value of the business is at least worthy of more than 
passing attention. 

He must be imaginative who can give even an appropriate idea about 
the value of the eggs produced in this country during the run of a year, 
yet it does not take a lively guesser to see that the amount easily runs 
into the millions, and very likely into hundreds of millions, for think of 
every other man, woman and child of a number something like 100,000,000 
people in this country eating several dozen eggs during a twelve month 



EGGS 181 

And everybody eats eggs nowadays. Not only do we find them boiled, 
fried, scrambled, in omelets and in "ham and," but they enter largely 
into cakes, pies, cookies and buns of one kind or another. Besides, an 
enormous amount of undergrade eggs is used for dressing leather and 
for various chemical purposes. 

No one food product is so popular, if not always so cheap. But whether 
they are used soft boiled or poached for the dyspeptic or convalescent, or 
for egg-nog to placate the connoisseur, they must be had, and it some- 
times occurs that the American people can hardly be supplied with 
enough eggs at any price. An occasional whim of the public in this 
respect, as we have observed in a former chapter, has been responsible 
in no small measure for the insane speculation that often occurs in the 
trade, and which is so frequently the undoing of firms and individuals as 
we shall see later on. 

At best, the egg deal when viewed at any stage of the game is eccentric 
and treacherous. It is as fickle as a March wind on some occasions ; 
while at times it shows the strength of a stone wall. But the very un- 
certainty which generally prevails, and which has been induced by the 
speculative feature made possible by the cold storages and the banks 
in recent years, it may be set down with double emphasis that by no 
system of logic or rule of produce law can one "count one's chicks until 
one's eggs are hatched." Of course, that is only another way of stating 
the fact that no expected profits from eggs can be called real money until 
the aforesaid profits are in hand and preferably to one's credit at the 
bank. 

I have seen advices in a few telegrams received in a large market 
during the winter while there were yet heavy stocks of storage eggs to be 
worked out, telling about scattering lots of fresh eggs in the South and 
Southwest destroy confidence among a coterie of men whose aggregate 
holdings of cooler stock ran into the millions. I have observed a hand- 
ful or two of fresh eggs put up on the exchange in a leading market at the 
critical moment when the outcome of a season's speculating was trembling 
in the balance send the whole crowd of traders on the stampede like a 
drove of steers on the plains. I have seen the mercury play hide and 
seek with the zero point all over the country, which lasted several days, 
and shut off egg production, causing the egg market to go up as fast as the 
mercury went down, and then fall itself as suddenly. 

In an earlier clia])ter we noted that various factors are constantly at 
■work shaping conditions and ]}rices of various markets for different kinds 
of produce. To clinch our point we need only to mention eggs. Supply 
and demand, while the main factors, without intelligen*" analysis, are 
hardly one, two, three in the egg game. 



182 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Honestly, it seems to me that eggs delight in being erratic. It is 
seldom the deal happens to happen the same way twice in succession. 
Pure dope is unavailing; to handicap the ponies is mere kindergarten 
exercise as compared with telling what may or may not befall eggs. 

But there are lots of soothsayers and fellows with tabulated nonsense 
every season trying to beat a bunch of tom-toms to drive away tht 
eclipse over the face of the egg deal, and it may not be foreordained but 
I have been possessed of the idea that if eggs can possibly have a senti- 
ent faculty, taken in the aggregate, they strive to make these prognostica- 
tors and historians look like a two spot by doing the reverse of what 
they figure out in their premature dope. 

No rule can be laid down as an infallible guide for the successful 
handling of eggs any more than a sure thing system can be figured out 
to beat the bookmakers. 

But it is true of the egg deal that plain ordinary common sense is 
the best guide when to buy and when to sell. If the judgment of an 
experienced produce man tells him eggs are too high for a fairly safe 
investment when they are being stored, he should have self-control enough 
to play hands off. If it is necessary to put away some eggs, and he is 
sure his trade will want a certain amount of stock, even at a higher 
price than looks safe as an investment, it should be set down as a hard 
and fast rule that so many and no more will be bought and stored. It 
would be a great surprise how a bit of horse sense will help now and 
then to deal with a complex egg situation, as is true of other similar 
situations that arise in produce affairs every now and then. 

But when the speculative fever addles the brain of your egg man, and 
he gets started on the wrong track, it is a safe bet he meets with a drub- 
bing sooner or later, for if he wins the first time he is tempted to play 
it stronger the next, and if his load is too heavy and the deal goes wrong 
some way, as it can and will sometimes, it may mean another tomb- 
stone in the commercial cemetery, for the official produce undertaker has 
a knack at hustling egg speculators to an untimely grave without waiting 
for mass of flowers, and there follows just a plain obituary notice in 
the newspapers and some empty egg cases are left to show where an 
egg speculator has been. 

The advent of the cold storages with the services they offer has wrought 
a great change in tlie system of handling eggs, and the range of prices 
in all markets within the memory of many a middle-aged egg dealer. 

It is not my purpose to enter into a discussion as to whether or nol 
tliese changes have been desirable in every respect, and it is sufficiem 
for our purposes to note that they have come and come to stay. The 



EGGS 183 

application of refrigeration to the egg business, resulting in their being 
carried for several months, is a fact which we must deal with. In a 
previous chapter we observed that the storages discharge the function of 
a bank and also an insurance company, and it is only worth while in 
this connection to state that the crazy speculation in storage eggs is due 
almost entirely to the easy means for speculation which have been opened 
up by these two great aids in the handling of eggs, for if they would 
not make it possible and even encourage speculation in high-priced eggs, 
as we have frequently seen during the last few years, it is plain that 
there would be less trouble. There is a well founded doubt if headlong 
plunging in high-priced eggs has not lost more money than has ever been 
made after that system of trading. 

While we have the cold storage phase of the egg deal under consider- 
ation it may not be improper to say a few words about the selling of 
storage eggs to the consumer for the fresh article. For this imposition 
a remedy must be found sooner or later, and it is imperative that the 
consumptive demand be not reduced to a minimum by a game of swindling 
that springs from the greediness of retailers and jobbers, and which is 
too often encouraged, I regret to say, by some people in the wholesale 
trade who apparently think it is quite correct for them to follow any 
scheme that will enable them to get the largest possible profit today, but 
who have little concern for the morrow, or for others in the trade who may 
have a bunch of eggs that cannot be moved because the public is held up 
and made to pay exorbitant prices for what eggs they buy. It does not 
occur to me that it is at all necessary for the public to be humbugged 
in order that storage eggs show a profit if they are handled in a legiti- 
mate way. The public need storage eggs as badh^ as storage eggs need 
the public. 

Just how the remedy is to be applied for the evil of which I am com- 
plaining is not so easy to see, for any remedy that will be effective will 
be very difficult and expensive to put into operation. Yet it is almost a 
question of self-preservation in some markets during certain critical times 
that a drastic remedy against this old time imposition be found and ap- 
plied. Federal regulations will probably be necessary to correct this bad 
practice, and if the United States government takes hold of the matter 
in the right way it is likely that something will be accomplished. 

I take it that any food product so generally used as eggs should be 
of sufficient importance for the United States government to take cog- 
nizance of any manipulations which might tend to affect the movement 
or the quality of such product, especially if it is likely to affect the public 
health if improperly handled. At the same time I do not want to be mis- 
understood as endorsing the senseless clamor we have had against storage 



184 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

fggs as sucli, and which has come mostly from peojjle who have gen- 
erally made no first hand investigations into the matter. 

But it cannot be denied that storage eggs are bought right and left in 
a score of markets during the fall and winter in a jobbing way at twenty 
to twenty-five cents per dozen, and are run out by the retailers to con- 
sumers in half dozen or dozen lots at thirty to forty cents a dozen, or 
even more sometimes. That they have nearly always been sold for fresh 
eggs is too well known to require argument. 

If the eggs were sold for just what they are it probably would not be 
so bad, but in addition to charging the exorbitant profit the consuming 
public are led to believe they are getting real fresh eggs. I have no 
hesitancy in saying that the better element in the trade will sooner or later 
have to lend a hand in stamping out this abuse. Too many times have 
we seen instances where wholesale dealers have aided and abetted in this 
nefarious traffic. It is a shameful fact that certain men have been con- 
nected with the egg trade who, in common with other human jackals, have 
resorted to all kinds of devices to rob consumers and even to impair the 
digestion of the public, and even to jioison people, if only a few paltry 
dollars were in sight. 

We have to thank these two-legged hyenas for a great deal of this 
insistent public agitation of late years for crazy laws against cold storages. 
They have so abused every principle of decent business as to outrage the 
patience of the average man and woman in this country, and to cause the 
people to try to get back at them for the harm that has been done. Can 
the public be blamed ? 

Think of all the rotten mess that has been fed the American people in 
the way of bad eggs. Rotten eggs with flies in the cans which were put up 
for bakers' use have been found by government pure food agents from 
time to time. Some of these eggs which are broken up and put into cans 
are unfit for food, while it cannot be denied that a certain percentage of 
eggs that will not do to put out to the public in the shell are good enough 
to be used by bakers, who can mix them with other ingredients so as to 
cause no injurious effects to those who eat their bread and cakes. But 
I want to emphasize the statement that eggs which are actually filthy and 
rotten have no place in a baker's shop, or any place else where human 
food is being prepared or sold. 

If necessary to break up this kind of business I think some dealers 
who make a practice of handling rotten eggs should be sent to the peni- 
tentiary, and unless I read the signs of the times wrong we are not far 
from having such action taken if it shall become necessary to put a stop 
to this nasty traffic. Personally I have a much higher regard for a hold- 



EGGS 183 

up man than for the despicable rascal that cares not if he i)oisons me and 
others to get our money. 

At the same time, I think there arc legitimate limits for the handling 
of low grade eggs. In others words, an egg may be only bad in part. 
Such stock, I believe, can be broken up and have the bad part sep- 
arated from the good so that it may be used for some purpose. Those 
firms who make a business of handling these undergrade eggs should be 
provided with an official inspector at their places of business, whose 
duty it should be to see that only the parts of eggs fit for human food 
are allowed to get into the commercial food channels. 

It may be perfectly true, as some people claim, that undergrade eggs 
have their uses and that it would be unjust to the egg trade to entirely 
outlaw these eggs of indifferent quality. There is no question but for 
chemical purposes, and for tanning leather, glazing, and for various other 
uses, these undergrade eggs are quite desirable. But I am unalterably 
opposed to allowing people who make a business of handling them to 
have a free hand for breaking up and canning all kinds of undergrade 
stock merely because the eggs may have "some" commercial use. I think 
this business should be put under strict government supervision similar 
to the packing house business, and I would like very much to see the 
severest penalty the law can impose inflicted upon those who undertake 
to violate such regulations as would restrict these rotten eggs to industrial 
purposes, and not to permit them in any sense to be used for human 
food. The public have eaten too many "spinkles"; they will not tolerate 
them much longer. 

Perhaps it would not be out of place to say something about the well 
developed system of grading eggs, for I have no doubt but the average 
reader outside of the trade has little or no idea what is meant by spots, 
checks, dirties, or even extras, for these words are more or less of a 
technical nature. My only purjjose in including anything on this subject 
here is to give the reader outside of the trade a clearer idea of the sub- 
ject we have under discussion, for it has been my experience that in order 
to draw any intelligent conclusion about eggs at all we must understand 
what a good egg is if we expect to form a conclusion as to what is meant 
by a bad egg. 

Eggs are graded by candling. As the name implies, candling involves 
holding an egg before a lighted candle or some other good light to deter- 
mine the condition of the egg from the appearance it has when subjected to 
the light. The practiced eye can detect at a glance just what may be the 
quality of a given egg under inspection. 

It is hardly necessary to say that electric or incandescent lights are 



18G PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

now generally used instead of the old time tallow candle, because the 
electric light is more powerful, and quite naturally, the stronger the light 
the better. Perhaps the best candling device is a small tin box with a 
dark background in which an electric bulb is fixed ; in one side is an open- 
ing about the size of an egg so that the candler can hold the egg near 
the hole where he can see quickly and readily determine the soundness, 
fullness and freshness of an egg. Those who have taken the time to do 
a little candling know that Avith the proper apparatus, a steady hand 
and fairly good eyesight are about all required to arrive at a correct idea 
of what a given egg sample shows for a whole case or car lot. 

A strictly fresh egg from a healthy chicken hen exhibits a rosy look, 
which, taken with the full effect of the white, shows the stock is fresh. 
When there is found a shrunken effect, or the yolk is on one side, there 
can be little doubt but the egg has been laid for some time, and cannot be 
graded as fresh. An enlarged air space at the end of the egg is one of 
the surest indications that it has been laid for some time, as this air space 
becomes larger as the liquid matter of the egg gradually evaporates after 
the egg is laid. And where an egg is found with "blood rings," due to 
germination having set in in warm weather it is a safe bet that the egg 
has been laid for some time, except when these "blood rings" are found 
in the eggs of young pullets early in the spring, probably due to physio- 
logical causes. 

Grades, therefore, depend first upon quality as to freshness and size. 
Sometimes color enters into the classification for certain markets or for 
special requirements. 

In most markets extras or specials are of the very best quality, and 
are relatively perfect from a commercial standpoint. In order to reach 
this higher grade an egg must be full, sound, sweet and uniform in size, 
and the cases must not show a greater loss than 10 to 20 per cent of 
poor eggs during certain seasons of the year, the heavier loss being al- 
lowed during the warm weather. 

The next grades are generally listed as prime firsts, firsts, ordinary 
firsts, etc., which permit losses from 15 to 35 per cent, for prime firsts, 
from 30 to 55 per cent for firsts, and 40 to 70 per cent loss on ordinary 
firsts during the different seasons of egg production. These losses, of 
course, imply losses from candling and do not necessarily mean eggs 
unfit for food, because the matter of size enters into the candler 's grad- 
ing, and also the eggs which may be stained or have dirt on the outside, 
may fail to "pass," though they may be perfectly good inside. 

The term "storage packed" applies on about the same basis of quality as 
for other grades just cited, except a different style of packing is used in 



EGGS 187 

order to protect the eggs during the long period they are to be kept in 
storage, and also for insuring safe handling and shipping after the}"^ are 
taken out. After an egg has been stored it is known to the trade as a 
"refrigerator" egg when it is taken out and offered for sale. 

Current receipts are eggs as they come from the country and may be 
strictly fresh, or they may show a heavy percentage of inferior quality, 
due to the length of time held by the farmer's wife or by the country 
merchant before being sent to market. Of course, the trade understands 
in a general way what may be expected when it is known from what state 
or section current receipts are coming at different seasons, but at best, 
the term current receipts is like charity, as both may be truthfully said 
to cover a multitude of sins. It is easy to see that eggs coming in mis- 
cellaneous lots need candling and grading so as to separate the good, 
bad and indifferent. 

Low grade eggs are known as rots, spots, checks and dirties, though 
the last named may be perfectly good to eat, but off grade for having 
dirty or soiled shells. 

It is quite true that the services of expert egg candlers in the larger 
markets could be dispensed with in a large measure, and much money 
could be saved if eggs were always shipped to market while they are 
fresh. Holding eggs at initial points until they lose a good share of their 
freshness is an old trouble for which a remedy is badly needed. During 
the last few years a great deal of serious thinking has been done to try 
to i^revent the heavy losses which take place by failure to market their 
are produced and the time they reach the consumer, frequently amount- 
ing to as much as two or three weeks or more. 

Lately the United States Department of Agriculture has taken com- 
mendable steps in trying to educate farmers and farmers' wives how best 
to prevent the heavy losses which take place by failure to market their 
eggs every day or two, instead of once or twice in as long as a fortnight, 
heretofore the favorite method in some sections. Already considerable 
progress has been made in this respect and there are many people in the 
trade who have to thank the government for the good work which has 
been done. A very simple, practical set of rules has been worked out 
for the marketing of eggs from the farm, and if these rules were only 
taken seriously by the farmers it would save a great deal of trouble which 
the trade has had to contend with in the past. The gist of these rules is 
to use cleanliness in collecting and handling the eggs, and to send them to 
market as soon as possible. 

Heretofore, country merchants have been largely responsible for the 
trouble with bad eggs, as it often happens where they take eggs in from 



188 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 



farmers they put them away in a heated room wliere tlicy are side by side 
with various other articles such as kerosene, bacon, etc., and in many 
cases under a temperature that actually starts germination in the -eggs. 
I hesitate to say it but I hardl}^ think the average country merchant has 
any business dabbling with eggs at all, especially in view of the fact that 
so many of them exhibit little or no interest in hastening the eggs on 
to markets where they are to be consumed. 

There is no doubt but many of these merchants have been imposed 
upon by farmers who bring the eggs in and trade them for calico, tobacco 
and other merchandise found in a country or village store. In some cases 
the merchants have stated in so many words that they were afraid to ques- 
tion the farmers regarding the freshness of the eggs, as they would likely 
go some place else to trade. 

Complaints have been made that farmers have often taken eggs which 
had been put through the incubator and have refused to hatch, and have 
actually sold them to country merchants and to others who were credu- 
lous enough to believe everything that an "lionest farmer" might say. I 
am not prepared to say how widespread this despicable practice has been, 
but there is no doubt such traffic has been the means of causing health 
officials to contend for the passage of certain laws which would make it 
criminal to sell eggs of this kind for human food. I may say that I be- 
lieve thoroughly in the passage and enforcement of such regulations. 

The crooked farmer who would sell old incubator eggs to the country 
merchant, and take his good money or merchandise for them, is just as big 
a crook and is just as great an enemy to the public as the wholesale dealer 
who makes it a business to break up and can rotten eggs with the expecta- 
tion of selling them to someone, who in turn is to use them in preparing 
human food. I only wish that the whole crew involved in such business 
could be taken up and put into the penitentiary or swung from a gibbet, 
for I think every fair-minded man will agree with me that they are such 
a menace to the health of our people as to be considered a public enemy. 
I could hardly conceive worse criminals. 

If all eggs were handled quickly and pushed along to the consuming 
public they would not only bring more mone}', but it is the opinion of many 
well-known dealers that more eggs would be used by the public. In cer- 
tain localities egg buyers have found it profitable to send out wagons 
on regular routes every day or every other day to purchase eggs directly 
from the farmer, and follow a plan to pay them exactly what the eggs 
are worth at the time they are taken on the wagon. This is a very com- 
mendable idea and should be extended wherever it is possible to put it 
into operation. 



1 



EGGS 189 

Another excellent practice which is coming more and more into vogue 
is the plan of buying eggs on a basis of actual weight. It is easy to see 
that a class of eggs which weigh as much as 60 pounds to the case is worth 
much more than another class which runs i5 to 50 pounds. The popu- 
larity of certain breeds of small hens because they lay more eggs is giv- 
ing rise to a lot of trouble among dealers who have been accustomed to 
buy eggs on a case basis heretofore. 

Every egg man, and every consumer for that matter, knows that a large 
egg, such as is produced by the Plymouth Rock hen, is worth a great deal 
more than the small egg which is produced by the Leghorns and other 
kinds of hens which lay a small egg. 

Wherever eggs cannot be collected at regular intervals it is no doubt 
a good method to buy on a loss-off basis, for this system has gone a long 
way towards settling the matter of quality, and also solving the second- 
hand case problem. 

The loss-off plan amounts to just what the name implies, for the eggs 
are candled and the country merchant or the farmer is paid for just what 
the eggs grade as to quality. Recent legislation in a number of our states 
has made this system much easier than heretofore because all competitors 
are put on the same basis, and the farmer does not enjoy any greater bene- 
fit by selling to one than to another. It is simply another case where pub- 
lic sentiment is asserting itself against rotten eggs, and no one is more 
pleased to see the laws being put into effect than the writer. The best 
way to effectually settle the bad egg problem is to prevent their getting 
into the channels of trade. 

Country merchants who frequently persist in using any old rattle-trap 
of a box to hold eggs, simply because they figured it was the cheapest 
way, found that the cheap cases are the most dear after all. It took 
losses on top of losses to prove this, however, and many shippers were 
literally forced to adopt the loss-off system because of the breakage in 
transit when the eggs were shipped into concentrating points or into the 
markets in these old cases. I am not interested in egg cases in any way, 
but I do not hesitate to say that unless these second-hand cases are rein- 
forced with iron straps which enables them to stand up in transit, and 
which entitles them to the same freight rate as new cases, they should be 
ruled out altogether, as they are worse than useless for all practical 
purposes. 

While we have the subject of egg cases in mind I want to say that it 
has always been a puzzle to me why the regulation thirty dozen case, 
built along the lines on which it is constructed, was ever adopted as the 
standard package in this country. I have no hesitancy in saying that I 



190 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

think it would have been hard to select a worse package. In the first 
place, it is itself constructed in a flimsj' way, yet it is intended to 
protect a very fragile commodity. 

Again, why should thirty dozen be selected as the number to include 
in a case? It seems to me that twenty would have been a much better unit 
to have worked on, because, in the first place, it would result in a smaller 
bulk in such a fragile package. Of course, I am aware of the fact that it 
would take concerted action among the trade all over the country ever to 
make any change from the regulation white wood case holding thirty dozen 
eggs, but it seems to me that unless some plan is devised to make a better 
case we shall have to expect some changes sooner or later. 

I am firmly convinced that the day will yet come when the trade will 
use some kind of metal case which can be knocked down or folded, one that 
can also be sterilized from time to time which will make it absolutely 
clean and as good as a new case in every respect. While a case of this 
kind might cost more than the cases now used, I believe in the end they 
would be found much cheaper than the white wood case which is now 
taken and made to do duty on one trip to market and then is usually 
thrown away. No one who is at all familiar with the subject can deny 
that there is now an enormous waste in egg cases, it being estimated that 
something like 20,000,000 are turned out annually which are practically 
all thrown away after they have made their one trip to market. 

In carrying out the idea of a correct package I want to say that the use 
of No. 2 fillers which gave so much trouble to many people in the trade 
a few years ago, and which are even now used to too great an extent, were 
no doubt conceived along with the rattle-trap box used as a cheap pack- 
age for shipping eggs. Only fillers made of stout cardboard should be 
used in packing eggs for shipping or for storing. Poor fillers are dear 
at any price, and their use should be discouraged. There are new-fangled 
ideas in fillers just as there are in cases, but the old-fashioned filler con- 
sisting of cross-sections of good cardboard joined so as to make a square 
hole in which the egg rests, with a square sheet of cardboard at the tojj 
and bottom of each layer of eggs, and then a liberal supply of excelsior 
or shavings between the top and bottom layers of eggs and the top and 
bottom of the case, make a very desirable package so far as the inside 
packing is concerned. 

And while we are talking about packages it may not be out of place 
to say a word or two about the cartons holding one dozen eggs, which 
are now becoming so popular among retailers and even among jobbers 
who put up eggs in these cartons with their own brand printed thereon. 
This is a splendid idea, and is one which really enables a dealer to work 



EGGS 191 

up an asset in a good brand of eggs. The mistake should not be made, 
however, in thinking that an attractive carton with a good sounding name 
will take the place of quality inside the eggs inside the carton. The brand 
is good to proclaim quality ; otherwise it is useless. 

I had almost forgotten to say anything regarding the process of 
desiccating eggs, which as the term indicates, means a drying-out of the 
liquid in eggs and making the residue susceptible of being rendered into a 
powder, which is usually canned or put up in cartons and stored away 
under proper conditions to be saved for future use. 

Too frequently spots and undergrade eggs liave gone for desiccating 
purposes, and no doubt if only good eggs had been employed for desiccat- 
ing, a much larger demand would have been created for this product long 
ago, as it fills a need that is hard to satisfy with any other substitute. 

Desiccated eggs have been used extensively among bakers and others 
who find it necessary to get a quick mixture. To these powdered eggs 
a little warm water is added and after stirring for a few moments the 
egg matter is reproduced in about the same consistency as scrambled eggs 
would be before being dried out. 

Quite a business has been worked up in desiccated egg products for 
export, and since the dry powder is especially desirable for use in domes- 
tic mining and lumber camps where a small tin may be carried or kept, 
but where eggs in the shell are out of the question, and for military pur- 
poses, the advantage of the powdered form is quite manifest, as a tin 
can be taken on the prospecting trip or march and scrambled eggs and 
coffee may be had on a few moments' notice. If desiccated eggs had 
only a better reputation they would doubtless be used more extensively by 
our people. 

A EULOGY OX THE AMERICAN HEN 

And now as a final word about eggs permit me to say I should feel 
xnyself an apostle of ingratitude, and a destroyer of some of the sweetest 
sentiments in life, were I to close my remarks upon this subject without 
some slight tribute to the great American hen, for she is the source of all 
our stupendous traffic in eggs. It is she that causes the industry to sur- 
vive from season to season, it is she that produces all the profits, it is she 
that yields up her finer sensibilities to the sinister commercial spirit of 
the times. 

Yet we seem to begrudge her the stinted praise she may receive for her 
industry and the faithful performance of her duty day after day, season 
after season. What a stupenduous task is hers ! Of the vast labor and 
immense outlay of money the proceedings involve with respect to her ag- 
gregate product we little dream. 



192 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

If I had the poetic gift of a Homer or a Milton and could feast upon 
an egg diet for a fortnight I would then try my hand at a grand epic that 
might in some small degree pay a fitting tribute to that marvelous fowl, — 
the common chicken hen. 

Behold this humble feathered creature that was cheated in the beginning 
by nature when gaudy feathered dresses, pretty rose combs and other 
things which delight the feminine heart were being distributed among 
the haughty roosters, and who was deprived even of the spurs she so 
badly needs to defend herself and her brood. Instead of having con- 
ferred upon her the ability to crow when she had done something worth 
crowing over, as happens nearly every day, she must content herself with 
a cackle, and if perchance she essays to learn to crow she is likely to get 
her neck wrung, for all animated creation seems to abhor a crowing hen 
and a whistling woman. 

Observe the lowly tread of the hen in tlie millions of barnyards from 
Maine to Mexico! See her as she evades the enforced attentions of 
Sir Chanticleer at every turn. Whether she tries to catch a grasshopper 
or pauses to dip her parched bill in a chicken trough, her over-lord is by 
her side vowing his undying affection, and at the same time blinking his 
other eye at a dozen affinities in the barnyard. How seriously she goes 
about her affairs, and yet how guilty of intrigue and deceptive show is 
this rascally cock with his flowing tail feathers and his deep-laid plans to 
distract the hen and drive her mad. 

I maintain that her career is strenuous and her friends are few. Though 
worthy of the highest encomiums man can utter there has been no suitable 
appreciation of her worth set down in all the realm of story and song. 
I am fully convinced that our Revolutionary sires who crossed swords 
with the redcoats and demonstrated their superior fighting ability, after- 
wards made a serious blunder when they selected the eagle, instead of the 
common chicken hen, as the bird representing the spirit of this stalwart 
nation. 

Why.? 

The reason is perfectly simple. In the first place, the hen is a peace- 
ful, industrious citizen, always willing to scratch for her living,; there is 
no clinging vine in her make-up, for she exhibits a desire that is almost a 
passion to be self-supporting, and possessing withal the happy knack of 
minding her own business, — qualities that constitute the bed rock of na- 
tional prosperity, and make for the solidarity of our great country. 
Pause and reflect for a moment what great aid she has rendered in the 
upbuilding of this grand republic. She has been a patron of the arts and 
sciences^ for she rendered invaluable service in raising the standard among 



EGGS 193 

stump speakers and "ham" aetors when she gave us the "cowardly" egg 
that hits and runs, and which is so much dreaded by barn stormers and 
political spellbinders. 

Yet my good hen delights in being a common citizen; she seeks no trap- 
pings of state nor outward show of wealth. Although she can convert her- 
self into a flying-machine at will, she is content to rest on terra firma, and 
rarely gets "up in the air" unless found trespassing in a neighbor's gar- 
den, as some hens will do if the bugs and worms seem to challenge her 
to go over a board fence across the way, for good hens, like good house- 
wives, show little regard for board fences if only a fat worm for the one, 
or a bit of gossip for the other, are to be had merely for the crossing over ; 
and be it known, both hens and housewives frequently get into trouble 
over a line fence. 

But to go back to the hen and the eagle : In the hen we have a domes- 
tic bird, one that yields great revenue and produces a large share of our 
food products. I can easily see why the Hindoo worships the ox, why 
the devout Moslem turns to Mecca for solemn prayer, and why the al- 
mond-eyed celestial holds in reverent memory the departed spirits of his 
ancestors. But it surpasses my untutored comprehension why the eagle, 
that awful destructive bird of prey, repulsive in every sense of the word, 
was chosen to go on our coat of arms, on our coins, — with that cruel beak 
and outstretched wings emblazoned upon our escutcheon calling for 
homage from our children's children, — when it is so clear that the great 
American hen is entitled to that honor by every rule of law and reason. 

Is it cause for wonder that I take the position I do? Let him who 
doubts my sincerity as to the superior claims of the hen for the honors 
thrust upon the eagle, betake himself to a barnyard and assume the scien- 
tific attitude which aims to arrive at conclusions solely from the evidence 
at hand. 

Let him observe the hen, if you please, in her natural habitat where she 
is forced to dodge frequently the sticks and stones shied at her by the 
small boy across the way, and under this nerve-racking strain where she 
is in positive and serious danger from a dozen other common enemies, 
such as foxes, hawks, snakes, prowling dogs and cats, as well as two- 
legged sneak thieves, let him observe all this I say, and see with what 
Spartan fidelity my good hen sticks to her task, and follows her schedule 
of an egg a day as long as she can, or until her marvelous maternal in- 
stinct overcomes her assiduity to lay eggs. 

The hen is altogether a rational creature, — she reasons from cause to 
effect. Of this there is no doubt, for there is method in her every move-, 
ment. An old friend in a Western state was telling me once of the ways 



194 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

of a hen and among other ungrateful things said: "When one of my hens 
takes a notion to set, all h — 1 can't stop her." The sneering emphasis of 
his speech betrayed him as a man with a bad heart, and doubtless a flock 
of good hens, for, however this predilection may seem to others, I find 
cause for praising the hen on account of her unswerving purpose in this 
important matter. 

Instead of heaping censure on her poor head for tackling a glass or 
porcelain nest egg and tr^dng ambitiously as long as five or six weeks to 
hatch it, and sticks to the job even after she finds she has been grossly 
deceived, I think we should refer to her efforts as a faithful performance 
of duty which cannot be matched in all creation. I only wish that from 
such examples we could take the lesson home to ourselves, and display the 
same dogged determination in whatever we aim to accomplish in life. 
Thou sluggard, go no more to the ant, but to the hen for inspiration that 
means success. 

O, that I were capable of expressing a proper eulogy on the great 
American hen ! There is so much to commend and really so little to con- 
demn in her deportment I fear we are not duly appreciative of her ser- 
vices. She is so sincere, so simple, so satisfied. 

As a musician she is not to be sneezed at, for whether it be the simple 
"cluck-cluck" as she leads her brood after stray bugs or angle worms, or 
whether it be the resounding "c-o-c-k, c-o-c-k, cock-cock" which she al- 
ways delivers for some minutes after depositing a newly laid egg, there 
is melody in her voice for there is joy in her heart always. Her song is 
the simple outpouring of a soul that is filled with music, and it is a serious 
criticism on the race of poets that they have sung of milkmaids tripping 
down the shady lane, and rarely have they even referred to the hen and 
her plaintive lay. But she shall have her Boswell at last. O, that I were 
pious enough to become her patron saint ! 

I like the hen because she is a good advertiser ; she always calls at- 
tention to her operations, and she takes pardonable pride in her ability 
to lay good eggs. She is a great advocate of the sealed package, and an 
avowed apostle of the pure food doctrine, for her goods are always put 
out to the public with a view to making a reputation on merit. She is 
blissfully ignorant that any of her eggs ever prove unsatisfactory or 
give the least offense. She is the embodiment of lofty aspirations, the 
very incarnation of high ideals, while self sacrifice is the keystone in her 
scheme of philosophy. She is an artisan par excellence, a sworn enemy 
of race suicide, an indefatigable worker, an optimist for her constant 
song, a patriot by nature and a saint by rights, for who is so bold as to 
cast aspersions upon her fair name.^ Who would impute to her a sinister 
motive for her noble work? 



EGGS 195 

And yet, instead of having a casket of gold or a costly mausoleum when 
she reaches her three score years and ten of chicken life, she is most likely 
hustled into a stuffy coop with a nondescript aggregation of other fowls 
and sent away to a distant market, where her carcass, if tough and elastic 
by reason of great age and prolonged exercise, is promptly dispatched to 
some hash foundry or boarding house where it is labeled with the euphoni- 
ous appellation, "spring chicken," thus foisting a libel on her and her kind 
to go down in history ; whereas, her epitaph should be written in liquid 
words of truth, and not in the profane doggerel of a resentful boarding 
house poet whose digestion is always bad. 

I submit that an aroused public sentiment will spring ujj some day 
which will crush down this cruel course of tyranny and oppression to which 
my friend, the hen has been subjected for lo, these many years. 

As a reward for her ingenuity in solving successfully the grave problems 
with which she is confronted, and for the faithful services she so cheer- 
fully renders, we merely feed her crumbs ; as a mark of respect to her 
sacred memory we sleep on her feathers. We even rob her nest before 
her eggs are cold. We unceremoniously snatch away her baby chicks 
while they yet seek the shelter of her brooding wings, and send them 
awav to the market places to be sold as "peepers" because they peep. 

And to cap the climax of this infamous treatment she receives, I am 
informed that her owners all over the land are robbing her of the chief 
aim and highest pleasure of her life by making general a process of put- 
ting her eggs into an oil-heated incubator of foul smell, and trying to 
develop a mechanical chick without regard for the numerous desirable 
maternal qualities which she might reasonably be expected to transmit to 
her brood were nature left to take its course, and she could embrace the 
coveted opportunity of making her nest where she chooses and hatching 
her eggs as she pleases. 

It is an outrage, I submit, to cause a helpless creature like the hen to 
forego such a great function in life. By what right is she deprived of 
this duty.'' When, oh when, will this inquisition end? Is no strong 
arm left to challenge the cause of the weak and the oppressed? Are 
we to become a race of degenerates ? 

Our people should awaken to the true state of facts as they apply to this 
down-trodden fowl. A large fund should be created by popular subscrip- 
tion to build a towering monument to the memory of the hen. It should 
be a splendid shaft, grander than any sculptured obelisk of storied Egypt 
or gloriously triumphant pillar of classic Rome, and deep cut in whose 
shining marble sides words of affection should glisten and show that her 
rights and her worth had been recognized at last by the humblest and 



196 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

the highest in the land. Such action might atone in a small way for the 
immeasurable wrongs she has suffered in the past, and would doubtless 
secure her against their repetition in the future. 

May a generation of men be raised up yet who will honor themselves 
by honoring the hen ! When her harmless fuss and feathers shall have 
supplanted the piercing scream of the awful eagle, then and not until 
then, can we say with joy "the dawn of universal peace and prosperity 
has come !" 

May the Eord bless the Great American Henj may her fame never die 
and her son never set ! 



CHAPTER XXVI 



POULTRY 



Commercial poultry is a subject so broad and so easily divided into 
specialties that a respectable size treatise easily could be devoted to the 
subject if a careful analysis of the various phases of this branch of prod- 
uce were to be given anything like exhaustive treatment. 

Even in a casual survey of the subject we are quickly impressed with 
the fact that the commercial poultry deal is one that never ends. It is 
a ceaseless round from day to day and year to year, although there are 
occasions when the market undergoes peculiar changes, due to a variety 
of causes as we shall see presently. 

To some people engaged in handling poultry the ebb and flow of the 
tide during the big holidays are mere incidents, but the rank and file of 
the trade know that Thanksgiving, Christmas and the several Jewish 
holidays are to the trade what Derby day is to the races or the Fourth 
of July is to those who deal in flags and fireworks. 

However, the special holidays are but a drop in the bucket compared 
with the trading day after day when the demand is necessarily smaller 
than during the holidays, but in the aggregate makes the business of com- 
mercial poultry, perhaps, second in volume and value to no other branch 
of the meat supply of the nation. 

The author would be delighted to submit some figures on the value of 
the poultry produced and consumed in this country during a twelve 
month, but there are no statistics worthy of the name. The subject is so 
large and the industry so widespread tliat even Uncle Sam seems loath to 
do more than to take a cliance shot at a guess as to the nimiber of laying 
liens once every ten years. In the ])receding chapter on eggs we observed 
that their production extended from ]\Iaine to Mexico, and it is quite clear 
that poultry and eggs are as intimately related as cause and effect. In- 
deed, the hens are the cause and eggs are the effects ])rodueed, for we 
must always bear in mind that the egg presupposes the hen that produces 

197 



198 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

it. And it is worthy of notice that about as many different kinds of peo- 
ple are identified with the poultry business as are engaged in the han- 
dling of eggs. 

All poultry is handled either live or dressed, the latter being shipped 
sometimes with ice and sometimes without it, owing to the length of dis- 
tance to be shipped and the condition of the weather. 

Live poultry in small lots is shipped in coops of various patterns, sizes 
and shapes, ranging all the way from the oblong slat coop, "like mother 
used to make," to the new f angled ideas which are built with wire screens 
for the sides and top, and some of which are so flimsy as to make them 
crush like egg shells when stacked up one on another, thus making them 
very costly in the long run because of the fowls killed, unless great care 
is used in handling this kind of coop. Then, there is the patented knock- 
down coop that changes itself automatically and keeps a fowl guessing 
if it is on the outside or on the inside. Some of these new collapsible 
coops seem to have points in their favor, but it is a debatable question if 
the old fashion, rigid frame slat coop does not fill the bill best after all, 
for the main idea in getting a coop is not so much the looks, or the con- 
venience in handling, as the certainty of not only affording fresh air to 
the fowls, but holding up and holding out until a shipment reaches its 
destination and has been sold. 

In this connection the author cannot resist saying a few words about 
overcrowding fowls into a stuffy coop to be shipped in a badly ventilated 
car. This is always a mistake, both from a business as well as a hu- 
manitarian point of view, for there is no telling the heavy losses sustained 
in this way every season because careless as well as heartless shippers 
often try to make one coop do dut}' for two. 

The remedy is simple: Get another coop. If no other coop can be had 
to take what poultry is ready it is generally a comparatively easy matter 
to keep the extra fowls over until the next time a shipment is to be made, 
or until another coop can be obtained. This seems simple enough, and it 
should be followed as nearly as possible in everyday practice. May we 
hope that the day is not far distant when public sentiment, as well as 
common horse sense in the trade, will do away entirely with overcrowding ! 
I repeat that it is bad judgment to overcrowd a coop, as the resulting 
shrinkage due to dead fowls, and the shabby condition of the birds that 
survive the terrible ordeal gives rise to certain losses to the shipper nearly 
every time. 

Dressed poultry should always be thoroughly cooled before being 
packed for shipment. If the weather is cool it does not require long for 
the animal heat to escape after fowls are killed, and if stock is to be 



POULTRY 199 

iced it is essential that })lenty of ice is put into every barrel and box, pre- 
ferabl,v broken into small pieces and scattered from top to bottom with a 
good layer at each end of the package. Fowls should not be killed and 
packed while their crops are full, as it not only interferes with their ap- 
pearance, but also makes them spoil more quickly. 

In handling either live or dressed the trade should always remember 
that it is only the best «tock that yields the best returns. How many 
times have shippers been warned to keep the poor, scrawny and off grade 
stock at home, and on top of the good advice how often have they loaded 
up with a lot of fowls that look as if they were the original "scare crows" 
whose pictures we see in the story books ! The author has observed that 
as a general thing the old, experienced shippers use more care in getting 
good stock, and somehow avoid shipping the "umbrella frames" that are 
to be seen in any large market from time to time. Good, plump, healthy 
fowls that have been well fed and watered, and not overcrowded in coops 
or feeding pens will usually bring a premium that pays everybody who 
handles them, whether shipped live or dressed. 

Of late years the business of storing poultry has assumed vast propor- 
tions in this country. And well it may, for several million pounds of 
frozen poultry foots up a tidy sum of money. The same principle that 
governs all other kinds of produce under refrigeration applies to poul- 
try, i. e., buying at a reasonably low cost, and selling some time later at a 
price that shows a profit. 

But owing to agitation on the part of well meaning, yet often badly in- 
formed reformers and health officials, the frozen poultry industry, like 
the game business, has been almost outlawed in some quarters the past few 
years. Well directed efforts by organizations like the National Poultry, 
Butter & Egg Association have done much to correct wrong opinions and 
head off ill timed legislation resulting from the clap-trap of cheap poli- 
ticians and from the scare heads in daily papers based upon wrong in- 
formation in a great many cases. 

Dangerous and partisan legislation has been defeated in the nick of 
time on several occasions, and which legislation was designed to abso- 
lutely prevent undrawn poultry of all kinds from being sold. Experi- 
enced men in the trade know that such regulations, if enforced, would 
sound the death knell even of good frozen poultry, for it is next kin to 
a physical impossibility to keep a fowl after the abdominal cavity has been 
cut or ruptured, as infection sets in quickly and works more rapidly than 
when the "sealed package" that Dame nature puts up is preserved intact. 
Such a blow aimed at the poultry trade would certainly work an inj ury to 
the general public, for it would seriously complicate the question of sup- 



200 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

plying the larger markets with poultry if the sale of undrawn stock were 
declared illegal. 

A lot of utter nonesense has been foisted on the public about storage 
poultry being kept for five or ten years, and then sold for fresh. If any 
one who may be entirely ignorant of produce matters would reflect for a 
moment on this proposition he would see that the items of storage charges, 
insurance and interest on the money invested in the stock kept for so 
long awhile wound run away with the prospective profit to say nothing 
of the original capital involved in an undertaking of this kind. Those who 
know the game of storage poultry can verify the fact that it is rare, indeed, 
for frozen poultry to be carried longer than eighteen months or two years 
at the outside. Generally speaking, poultry comes out of the coolers within 
six or eight months, and often within two or three months after the time 
it is put in. 

It would help to relieve the public unrest on the subject if it could be 
advertised widely that as a general thing the object in putting poultry 
under refrigeration is to hold it temporarily for a profit, and not to render 
it unfit for human food as many good people have been lead, or mislead, 
to believe. 

And for this unfortunate condition of affairs many people in the trade 
have themselves alone to blame. There can be no doubt that much of the 
agitation we have heard has been caused from the acts of certain unscrupu- 
lous dealers in years gone by who were so unprincipled as to palm oflF 
stock for canning purposes after being treated with such chemicals as for- 
maldehyde, when they knew full well the stock was spoiled or soured, and 
that it could not be used for any other purpose. But to the credit of the 
trade it should be stated there is now less of this business going on. Poul- 
try men know that as a general thing only the canners will take the infe- 
rior stock, and they are relied upon to use most of the No. 2 poultry. 

Without reserve I feel safe in saying that the honest, intelligent ele- 
ment in the poultry trade will bear me out in the statement that No. 2 
poultry has been the most costly to the trade, in raising all felie hue and 
cry for "blue laws" to kill the frozen poultry business. 

Unless the trade shows a disposition to be fair with the public the 
author is apprehensive that there is danger ahead on the score of hostile 
legislation, — municipal, state and even national, for it should be noted 
that Uncle Sam is already laying plans and framing laws to stop the sale 
of bad poultry. It would be unfortunate to have this great business, as 
legitimate as the making of hats and shoes, tied up, crippled and maybe 
strangled to death, because of the sins of a few imprincipled scoundrels 
here and there who would apparently feed people rank poison if they 




STANDARD SINGLE LAYER ROASTER STYLE PACK; 24 BIRDS IN 2 LAYERS; BOTTOM LAYER 

HEADS AND FEET UP, TOP LAYER HEADS AND FEET DOWN ; ALL HEADS 

WRAPPED IN PARCHMENT PAPER AND PAPER BETWEEN LAYERS 



POULTRY 201 

could make a few dollars thereby- The trade should set itself to work to 
see that safe and sane regulations are passed and enforced to protect the 
great consuming public against unwholesome, infected jioultry. This can 
be done, and will have to be done sooner or later, if not by the trade, then 
by the jjublic, for it can be set down as a reasonably safe bet that an 
awakened public sentiment will demand and secure a remedy which will 
be effective. Some of the poultry trade are getting a delayed reprimand 
for sins committed several years ago. 

It is the swing of the pendulum I fear. Unless a proper remedy of a 
sensible nature is applied, it is not improbable that an erratic, destructive 
scheme of legislation will turn everything upside down for a while. There 
is no use bandying words and quibbling in fancied security coming from 
having the trade united to defeat what we may be pleased to call "revo- 
lutionary laws." The trade is powerful, I must concede, but at the same 
time a united front of the poultry and game interests is but a straw when 
compared with a united PUBLIC. It is the merest folly to hope against 
plans being devised to eliminate bad poultry from market channels in this 
country. The people are right in their demands on this score. 

At present it appears no final provisions as to proper methods of han- 
dling good poultry under refrigeration can be established. Just what 
effect the cells of poultry and other meats undergo from protracted re- 
frigeration does not seem to be well established among bacteriologists. It 
is known, however, that hard freezing has a tendency to "break down" 
the cells, and after coming out of the coolers we know poultry will not 
keep so long as when fresh killed. No one has attempted to dispute that 
good poultry can under proper conditions be frozen and afterwards thawed 
out and eaten without harm, though it is not so tasty as if fresh killed. 
In fact, the process of freezing actually improves the digestibility of 
some fowls by making the meat more tender. These are well established 
facts. 

To deduce a sort of axiom: Good poultry is little or no worse, if no bet- 
ter, for having been frozen if used soon after being thawed ; whereas, bad 
poultry is no better for being frozen, no matter how or when it is frozen 
or thawed, and if you will pardon me, without the slightest regard as to 
who owns the stock or does the freezing or thawing or treating with chem- 
icals, or putting fresh blood on it to give it a fresh appearance. 

Bad poultry, like bad money, is dangerous and eventually the most ex- 
pensive to those who handle it. Both should be suppressed for the com- 
mon good, and if a penitentiary sentence is the last resort to suppress 
either or both, I am willing and ready to register an "aye" vote to clear 
the atmosphere, the landscape and even the storages wherever necessarjr. 



202 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

It is hard to say if pure carelessness or pure cussedness is most largely 
responsible for the bad poultry that has given so much trouble hereto- 
fore. Ignorance of men who undertake to prepare and pack poultry for 
storing has^ no doubt, given rise to much unnecessary trouble. By this I 
do not mean to convey the impression that poultry men are all numskulls, 
for it is a fact that many intelligent men are in the business. 

On the other hand, there are quite a few who do not really know the 
essentials of handling meats, and who make blunders that seem appalling 
to those who are "on to their jobs," to use a curbstone expression. Ob- 
viously, those handling frozen poultry should be very careful of every 
detail. Methods should be improved generally. Cleanliness is a 
cardinal virtue, and it applies with double force to preparing poultry for 
storing. On the face of it this looks paradoxical, but I defy any man to 
disprove the fact that as a general proposition packing plants and feeding 
stations can be greatly improved from a hygienic standpoint. The water 
supply for fowls before being killed, should be free of poisonous impuri- 
ties, and only clean water should be used for rinsing, scalding or dressing 
poultry. 

Clean packages are also important. After i30ultry is packed ready for 
shipment every care should be used to keep it out of reach of filthy stenches 
and swarms of flies that are too often found about dressing plants. It 
makes a wonderful difference in the keeping of poultry if it is set aside 
temporarily and kept in pure atmosphere at a cool temperature as com- 
pared with dumping packages in a hot warehouse or next to a stable where 
putrefaction is invited in a dozen different ways, and where it is sure to 
begin from some one of them. 

There may be some people who will resent the foregoing, and who will 
say "what is the difference if the stock sells for as much.''" I hardly feel 
that this class of chumps really is entitled to a reply, for generally speak- 
ing, such people are moral degenerates who do not care for anything but 
the coin, though it may come coated with a dead man's blood. He is a 
public enemy who undertakes to feed the public with bad food, and it 
matters little if the food is bad through negligence or carelessness, or 
whether it is rendered impure on purpose or by accident. The evil re- 
sults are quite the same in all cases. Let's make no mistake about this. 

It is altogether likely that whatever regulations are eventually put into 
effect to secure the proper handling of storage poultry will go to the 
source of supply, and enforce projDer handling of the fowls, even when 
they are being fattened. There is a broad shouldered doubt if "milk 
feeding," as a general proposition, is not improperly done. The "cram- 
ming" process may be a hot bed of trouble before we are much older. 



POULTRY 203 

About the actual process I shall say little, as it is a technical point, and I 
purposely steer away from mooted technical questions. 

Incubators have come into such general use that it seems their im- 
portance to the poultry trade must not be overlooked. By taking a sur- 
face inspection of the business we little dream what a vast significance 
these devices have to the commercial poultry industry. That incubators 
make the business so extensive none can deny, for possibilities are opened 
up by their use that would never be dreamt of otherwise. 

Since we are concerned mainly in this chapter with the marketing end 
of the poultry deal it would be out of place to consume much time with 
fancy breeds. But nothing is good or bad except by comparison. In order 
to form some idea of scrub stock we find it necessary to have a look 
over the aristocracy of the feathered world, and scan the Minorcans, the 
Wyandottes, the Brahmins, the fine turkeys, ducks and geese that have 
aspirations to be included in the "Four Hundred" class of fowls. These 
elite birds are good mostly for show purposes and to sell. Some of them 
possess excellent commercial features, however, and it is about these we 
are chiefly concerned. Once upon a time game chickens were looked upon 
mainly as fighters, but somebody conceived the idea of crossing them with 
the scrubs, and it was found that the infusion gave rise generally to a 
better class of layers, as well as a more hardy fowl. Yet it has been 
known for a long time that the Plymouth Rock is probably the best all 
around commercial chicken. 

The main point I want to stress is that a studied effort should be made 
to develop new strains of stock for all purposes. Those who are inter- 
ested in the marketing of poultry may be able to advance some practical 
ideas of direct benefit to those engaged in raising fancy poultry, and vice 
versa. It is only by concerted effort that varieties can be improved, for 
nobody has any monopoly on ideas in the poultry business any more than 
in architecture, or in any other sphere of human activity. A careful com- 
parison of records relating to different tests about the keeping qualities 
of various fowls, the prices obtained for certain stock, the time and cost 
of fattening, — are all items that are worthy of consideration, and they 
are as broad and deep subjects as you want to make them. 

Reference was made in a former chapter to the subject of the seem- 
ingly unfair transportation rate on poultry when compared with the rate 
on dressed beef and other packing house products closely resembling poul- 
try. The explanation of this is quite clear. Poultry men have not been 
organized like the meat packers. Mainly just because the railroads had 
it in their power to put dressed poultry in the first class with no car lot 
minimum in trunk line territory and charge fifteen per cent, of the actual 



204 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

weight of a shipment for the ice used in protecting the shipment, they en- 
forced this system. Concerted efforts among the trade will no doubt be 
directed towards a remedy for these and other transportation abuses and 
disadvantages that the trade has met, and is still complaining of. 

Live poultry cars make up a subject that is altogether a live one for 
the trade. Why the railroads cannot be expected to furnish these cars as 
a part of their necessary equipment is hard to see. It seems that these cars 
of special pattern hold the real solution of getting large lots of live poul- 
try through quickly on a long haul. Their use has demonstrated their 
worthy and it looks as if some heed should be given by the transportation 
interests to the urgent demands of the trade that this special equipment be 
furnished just as refrigeration is now furnished by all important lines 
as a necessary part of the needs of modern transportation. It is up to the 
poultry trade to make the effort to get this equipment direct. 

In view of the fact that poultry comes from widely separated sections 
of the country, it necessarily follows that transportation questions must 
always be of prime importance to the poultry people. These problems 
must be studied carefully, and when proper remedies for existing evils, 
or improvements upon existing practices, shall have been worked out, the 
best interests of the trade dictate that concerted effort be made to put 
them into effect. 



Note. — Those who may be interested in the strictly technical end of 
selecting, feeding, dressing and packing poultry for market should get a 
copy of "Poultry Packer's Guide" of Pool Publishing Co., Mason City, 
la., or "Feeding Chickens for the Packing House" of E. R. Shoemaker, 
Waterloo, la. 



CHAPTER XXVII 



APPLES 



The apple has been called the King of Fruits, and there is but little 
doubt that the name is well chosen. Yet, despite the regal sway the apple 
holds in the realm of fruits, it should be observed that it is also the most 
democratic kind of fruit, and paradoxical as it may seem the apple obtains 
its aristocracy from its very popularity. 

And why should not the apple be the most popular and universally used 
fruit yet discovered? The wide range of varieties in this country covers 
the entire gamut of flavor and color so far as fruits are concerned. 

They run from the Maiden Blush and Benoni in the good old summer 
time when the breath of June seems to be compounded into them, clear 
through to the Baldwins, Snows, Pippins, Jonatlians, etc., of the fall and 
winter, when the autumn haze and the frosty air combine to develop a 
color scheme in these and other late apples as delicate as an October 
sunset. 

In short, the apple may be said to be a child of frost and summer sky, 
of sun and air, — all blended in nature's laboratory into a strange mingling 
of sweets and acids producing flavors unknown to other fruits, and colored 
with green and red and gold ! Is it any wonder that an apple in the hands 
of a woman was given as a reason for the tempting of man beyond re- 
sistance when the world was young? 

The tempting powers of an apple are great. We see it demonstrated 
often in the case of the small boy who persists in visiting the neighbor's 
orchard as he returns with other boys from Sunday School, or from a for- 
bidden visit to the old swimming hole. When the opportunity presents 
itself he rarely refuses to eat his fill of green apples, — perhaps a dozen or 
more, although one is usually enough to give a horse the colic, and two 
perhaps enough to kill an elephant. 

There are few counties or even precincts in the United States where ap- 
ples of some kind cannot be grown. There are few people in every local-' 

205 



206 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

ity who do not consume their quota of apples during the run of the }^ear, 
provided the apples can be had. Some see little of the fruit except when 
green ; others use it mostly in pies or when baked. But whether from the 
picturesque orchards of York State, or the miles and miles of Ben Davis 
in the Ozark region, or even from the vast irrigated stretches in the far 
west; about all of our apples of fairly good quality under normal condi- 
tions find their way into consumption. 

However, under the best system of marketing many people are unable 
to get as many apples as they would like to eat, and at the same time 
many apples must go to waste when there is anything like a full crop. 
We shall treat of this phase more fully as the subject unfolds itself. 

Producing nearly every year an apple crop ranging from 25,000,000 
to 50,000,000 barrels, more or less — nobody knows — it is quite easy to 
see that the apple gives rise to a great commercial industry both from a 
growing and a marketing standpoint. 

There can be little doubt that the subject of apple growing has been 
reduced to an almost exact science, for much talent has been employed, and 
vast sums of money and considerable time consumed in prosecuting re- 
searches and experimenting for practical results relating to apple growing. 
Although the field seems to be thoroughly covered I have no doubt but we 
shall see some more startling wonders in the horticultural end of the busi- 
ness before many years shall have elapsed than we have witnessed in a 
half century before. The matter or adapting variety to locality is one that 
calls for something in the way of genius. As yet we can hardly say that 
varieties are correctly distributed everywhere, nor evenly divided for 
best results. In this connection I merely refer to the fact that there will 
be something worthy of a deep thinker in handling this subject before 
many more years. It is reasonable to expect many new and better 
varieties will be developed for different localities. 

The study of apple marketing in the past seems to have made but little 
change in the system of handling the fruit to that which our fathers were 
accustomed. Numerous books have been published on apple growing, but 
the author does not recall ever having seen a volume devoted exclusively 
to apple marketing. Just why so much has been written about apple 
growing, and so little published of an authentic nature about correct 
marketing methods is difficult to understand, unless we agree that there 
is more interest in growing than in marketing. Surely, fruit men realize 
that it is of little use to produce fine fruit without proper handling from 
the time the fruit is picked until it reaches the consumer. 

Whether it is best to sell fruit in the orchard or to pick, pack and 
store for later sale, or whetlier to sell or consign, are all questions of 



APPLES 207 

vital import to successful growers everywhere. The fact that every 
season brings a different set of conditions in the fruit business makes 
it hard to tell always just what is best to do, but before we are through 
with this subject I hope to be able to advance some suggestions that 
may be helpful to the apple grower and the fruit dealer alike. 

The seasons change and so do markets for apples. If there were any 
such thing as luck I would agree that it plays considerable part in mak- 
ing or losing money in apples. But luck is a poor excuse for losing 
money, while it may sometimes be a pretty good reason for making 
a profit, as trusting to luck is about as near real business as some apple 
men seem to get. Those who trust to luck in apples will generally fare 
badly, yet it takes a cracker jack to win out every time, even on the 
best kind of management. However, with correct information about the 
extent and condition of the crop in different sections of the country 
every year one can draw a fairly intelligent idea what range of prices 
is about right to figure on for various classes and varieties of apples. 

I am talking about the standpoint of the grower as well as the dealer, 
for they have much to share in common when it comes to getting prices 
right, although we have found it often the case in the last few years 
that the grower has set out every season with a determination to get as 
much as he possibly could for his apples, while the dealer seemed bent 
on buying for as little money as possible. 

This system is all wrong in principle and causes a clashing of interests 
that should work in harmony always. Growers make troubles for them- 
selves indirectly when they undertake to force prices too high, as it 
checks the consumptive demand and re-acts on future prices to an abso- 
lute certainty. It may catch the growers a year later, or two years or 
longer, but they feel it some time. I do not mean to say that all growers 
are not justified in getting a fair price for their fruit, — one that shows 
a fair profit on the money invested in their orchards, and for labor ex- 
pended in spraying, cultivating, picking, packing, etc. Beyond these 
legitimate expenses, and a fair profit, I cannot see where a grower is 
justified in demanding much more money. It happens generally that 
there are not enough fools buying apples to pay too much over and above 
the "fair" profit to take an entire crop, but it occurs sometimes that a 
few big buyers go stark crazy and pay out money like a drunken 
sailor. As a general rule it is due to concerted action among growers 
in demanding a certain price that holds the market up, and not the 
stupidity of the majority of buyers in openly walking into the fire. But, 
of course, the buyers are largely to blame for falling into a trap of this 
kind and deserve no sympathy for their folly. 



208 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Perhaps no class of business men are more like sheep than dealers in 
apples. Let one buy an important orchard, and it is known in a dozen 
markets in twenty-four hours, especially if the deal is made early in 
the season and the price paid is a pretty stiff one. And as soon as these 
early deals are reported the trade everywhere often takes the position that 
if oYie can stand it others must, and so it goes. One or two sales early 
in the game have been known to have a lasting effect on a season's busi- 
ness. In fact, the big early sales are generally the ones that count in 
making the market, and once the market is fixed it can be expected to re- 
main firm with possibly slight advances, at least until all fruit is picked, 
packed and stored. 

Markets of all kinds, as we have seen in a previous chapter, are deli- 
cate things to tamper with. When business is going along smoothly it is 
nice to talk about having the situation under control, but your seasoned 
operator in apples who has watched the deal A^ear in and year out, will 
tell you it is best not to gamble too strong, but to take a fair profit when 
it is available, and let the other fellow have a living chance. 

Tlie public is fond of apples, but some growers have yet to learn that 
the public will never consent to be held up in order to enrich any class 
or coterie of people so long as it is possible to avoid being held up. 
Hundreds of dealers who have taken a flyer in high priced apples have 
paid for the experience of trying to work things too high. 

Manifestly it is hard to say at what price apples are a good investment 
from a sane business standpoint, and when they assume every symptom 
of the type of frenzied finance we see occasionally in the grain pit, it 
is clear that danger is ahead. 

What is high one season may, in truth, be a low figure to pay for 
apples the next. There should be some means by which safe limits 
could be indicated to apply every season without absolutely trying to 
establish prices. It does little practical good so far as the market is 
concerned to have the dealers and the growers organized in rival camps, 
the course of whose operations are generally diametrically opposed to 
each other. Such a system only makes for chaos and uncertainty, when 
it is obvious that the best interests of grower and dealer are always 
parallel. It avails little if the growers could force prices up tfi $10 per 
barrel in the orchard, and make the buyers load up and go hrckc in one 
year, for who would buy their fruit next year? On the contrary, the 
better element of buyers know if apples could be forced as low as 
fifty cents a barrel for good fruit that certain disaster W( uld result 
to those compelled to take such prices, as it is below the actual cost of 
production in most localities. 



APPLES 209 

But regardless of prices from the orchard or from the storage as 
between grower and dealer, there is yet a third person who has a word 
to say about the price, and he is Mr. Consumer. His is the final word. 
Too often we hear him blurt out an unceremonious negative when we 
are looking for liim to break his neck to take some more of our "strictly 
fancy" apples at a strictly fancy price. 

The effects of liigh prices on the apple market are well known. When 
good eating apples are going to the consumer early in the fall during 
a normal season at over twenty cents a peck, and unless there is a gen- 
eral wave of prosperity over the countr}'^, there is cause for apprehen- 
sion. Even when everything is literally swimming in prosperity it is 
possible for business to get a kink that throws the market out of gear 
over night. 

I have seen the deal set in and go through from one end of the season 
to the other without a quiver or a hiatus in prices, and the situation 
was constantly in favor of holders. But these occurrences are rare. 
We may safely count on ups and downs. To keep prices on a correct 
level to meet any emergency is the part of sensible business men in 
handling any line of trade. Speculation, as we have pointed out clearly 
in a former chapter, is usually bad business, and it is hardly worth while 
to dwell on the folly of trying to beat the apple game by looking always 
for a big killing. Prospective profits in apples often develop into real 
losses for somebody. 

The fellow who sizes up the situation and takes some nice profits one 
year may drop them the next year. We hear more or less about apple 
profits, but apple losses also cut quite a figure even if they are not so well 
advertised. Many a banker can tell several reasons . why apples are 
good to let alone- from a speculative standpoint, for they sometimes 
have to carry over a loan for a good operator who has a reputation of 
having inherited the gift of Midas. May I also be permitted to say 
that we have heard it handed down in trade traditions that some "big 
guns" in the apple game in times past who had aspirations to bloom into 
a sort of trust to run the apple deal, went on the rocks and had their 
little machines shattered into smithereens right at the time they figured 
the problem had been solved and settled ? And some of these un- 
fortunates had ample capital, and what was considered the best talent 
that money could buy. 

The apple industry is a big one, but the country that supports it is 
bigger. The business is a good one if properly conducted, but is as 
much dependent upon safe, conservative methods as the handling of 
drugs or clothing for sure results. The business of handling apples 



210 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

offers boundless opportunities for the conservative business man, but the 
rank speculator can lose cash in apples as easily as in Wall Street. 

Good judgment is the sine qua non in the apple deal. Both grower 
and dealer must study the game thoroughly if they expect to stay on 
the safe side. The up-to-date element in the apple trade takes observa- 
tions now and then by scanning tlie horizon all around, and if a squall is 
scented, this element, which is not characterized so much for being in 
a majority as for keeping a whole hide, prefers to take a reef in the 
sails instead of stretching out more canvas, and trying to outrun the 
storm when it is breaking upon them in all its iury. 

In short, the conservative is the onlv apple man worth while. The 
day of miracles with apples is past. Professional speculators should be 
discountenanced, and banished if possible, as they generally cause too 
much trouble in the apple deal for the small profits they get and the good 
profits they often keep others from getting. If they could be forced to use 
their own money, to keep their mouths shut, and to work quietly it might 
not be so bad, but a few hundred dollars in the hands of a two by four 
plunger early in the season may be the inception of a campaign that 
will entail losses running into the hundreds of thousands, and which may 
put some good houses and well to do growers on the scrap heap forever 
and a day. This much is certain: No line in the produce business is 
better for investment and worse for rank speculation than apples. 

General remarks in foregoing chapters on grading and packing, and 
the principles deduced therefrom apjoly with full force to handling 
apples. The same may be said about the subject of packages, for the 
matter of properly packing apples for the purjiose of showing the 
fruit up to the best advantage is of equal importance with the matter of 
making a package that will stand transportation and keep well in 
storage. 

The comic papers have made threadbare the joke about the farmer 
putting the small, wormy apples m the middle of a barrel, and dress- 
ing the top and bottom off with a layer of nice, showy fruit. Those of 
us who have had the principle of the joke brought to our attention day 
after day are sometimes led to ask ourselves if it is possible for a 
farmer to put up a straight pack. Perhaps it is only charitable for me 
to refrain from a direct answer to this query. 

But it would be unfair to drop this subject here without saying there 
are many of the more progressive growers nowadays who have fouiad 
that proper grading and packing is a means of building up a good re^ju- 
tation and making money, and have, therefore, decided upon a differ- 
ent line of action from that made famous, or infamous, by some of their 



APPLES 211 

ciders. It may rcquirt- an optimist to say it, but tht- author honestly 
believes from his observation of the subject that honest, straight packing 
will be more popular among the growers themselves in the future than 
in the past. 

A])ple packing is at once a science as well as an art. To learn a 
system of ])aeking is a matter that recpiires no special genius, but it 
does call for some exce])tional intellect to originate new ideas in packing 
apples, as is true of other produce atlfairs. 

Perhaps for many years to come the barrel will continue to be the 
favorite i)ackage in eastern territory, and the box will be used for most 
western ai)i)les. There are manj^ reasons why this statement is well 
founded. The sanction of usage is stronger than statute law. Barrels 
are more easily obtained in the eastern territory than in the west. Box 
material, on the contrary, is more abundant in the west than in the east. 

Opinions differ as to which package is best for all around use. Both 
have special features that are desirable for certain purposes. Neither 
can hardly be called a perfect ])ackage, for perfection is a quality that 
is not attributable to any feature of produce. 

The movement begun in the trade to adopt a standard box and a stand- 
ard barrel is a good one, and should be pushed to the logical conclusion. 
It would seem that this matter would have been settled long ago. To 
have barrels in use that hold eleven pecks, and others that hold only ten 
pecks is bound to result in confusion. The same maj^ be said of the 
difference in the dimensions between the box used in Colorado as com- 
pared with the box used in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. 
These official standards cannot be established too soon, nor can they be 
adhered to any too closely. 

Trade terms should be specific, and above all, should be honest in their 
theory and practice. If it develops that the sizes of barrels and boxes 
need to be varied for proper packing of different sizes or varieties of fruii 
it is a comparatively easy matter to fix upon a system to cover these differ- 
ences, and once the trade becomes accustomed to the differences there 
should be no trouble to transact business on the various bases covered by 
the range in size of barrel or box. 

Again the matter of official weight to be contained in a barrel or box 
of different varieties is too often a mooted question. This laxity in 
fixing upon a proper standard gives rise to uncalled for excess charges 
for transportation. If it is necessary the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture should make some investigations as to the actual weights of 
apples, and help the various states to fix laws that would be more ac- 
curate than the slip-shod system now in vogue. 



212 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

To go into any elaborate discussion of varieties regarded staple by 
the trade would be more in the field of horticulture than in the scope 
of a treatise devoted to the marketing end rather than to the growing 
of fruits. However, there are some things that ought to be said about 
varieties in this chapter, and we cannot well omit all comment or sug- 
gestions. 

Of the different kinds of apples there is no end apparently. An old 
fruit grower who has devoted most of his time and thought to apples 
told the author a few years ago he had flattered himself on several 
occasions to believe he knew every variety of apples in the United 
States, but as soon as he got himself to the point he thought he had tab on 
all the different varieties some new strain would bob up and show him 
there is always something new under the sun, at least with respect to 
the different varieties of apples. 

Quite a lot of amusement was caused by a bit of pseudo-social gossip 
which went the rounds about a decade ago, and which personated the 
different varieties of apples. It ran something like this ; 

"The Duchess of Oldenburg, who was a fair lady, was engaged to be 
married to a young army officer. Captain Rolfe Vandcvere. It was 
annuounced in June that the marriage would take place in Early 
Harvest. 

But Lady M inkier, who had become enamored of the captain, em- 
ployed a Northern Spy to take a Horse to Greenville and confer with 
the Primate of Lankford, and endeavor to have him intercede with 
King Mcintosh to secure a leave of absence for the caj^tain, so that 
he could spend a vacation shooting on her estate in the Wolf River 
country near the confluence with the St. Lawrence in Ontario. 

The Primate was indisposed, and referred the emissary to a Faimuese 
Dominie named Ivanhoe, who was generally intoxicated with Canada 
Red Wine. Being unsuccessful in his efforts the Spy returned to his Lady 
employer bearing an exquisite Belleflower that would make any JNIaiden 
Blush with envy. 

Before further action was possible the captain, who was a Wealthy 
Mann, was out for a jaunt, and being tired sat on a Stump near 
Cooper's Market drinking Smith's Cider, and while resting he was 
struck by a INIammoth Black Twig, which he Swaars was wielded by 
Walter Pease, who had become jealous over the captain's attentions to 
Caroline R., a famous Western Beauty, who was a daughter of the 
well known Arkansas Black Senator. Dr. Baldwin was hastily sum- 
moned and after an examination of liis patient a consultation was 
held with Dr. Gravenstein, and they decided to remove the patient to 
Lowell for an operation. 



APPLES 218 

News of the felonious assault spread, and the suspeet confessed the 
crime. He escaped to Spitzenberg where he found Scott's Winter as 
disagreeable as he had heard. His only recreation was reading the 
papers from Pewaukee and his sole companion was Sitovka Arabskoe 
Tetofskj^, a famous Russian nihilist in exile. This made him Stark 
mad. 

The captain recovered slowly, and he was removed to the home of 
Colonel Porter, and later to Hotel Salome where Bismarck formerly 
stayed. Upon his recovery both the fair contestants began laying plans 
to monopolize the young officer's attentions. Delicacies like Chenango 
Strawberries, Jersey Sweet pears. Winter Bananas and Saps of W^ine 
were sent by both ladies daily. 

R. I. Greening, who was a boyhood friend of the captain's, insisted 
that he break with the two lovers, and devote his attention to a Miss 
Crabb, a niece of the Honorable Pearmain Walbridge, a well known 
financier and ship owner. But this young lady had previously been 
engaged to a young man named Ben Davis, who Haas a Delaware Red 
complexion and who had followed the course of Alexander in conquer- 
ing the world of femininity, and then began weeping because there was 
nothing more to subdue. In his York Imperial sway Davis had en- 
countered Jonathan Wagner, a shrewd attorney, who had designs on the 
young Heiress himself. 

The captain having decided to discard his erstwhile lovers, realized 
he had a difficult undertaking ahead of him in dealing with the two 
rivals for the hand of the rich heiress, and he observed that only a 
paragon could hope to win out eventually. He accordingly procured 
a Red Astrachan with Stars on the collar and lapels, so as to give a 
soldierly air to his dress. He purchased a necklace of Opalescent 
pearls of Baxter, the jeweler, a lover's talisman called "Nonesuch" 
from a fakir, provided himself with a bouquet of Sweet Boughs, a vol- 
ume of Belle de Boskoop's poems, a copy of the old painting "Walker's 
Beauty" and set out to see his lady fair. His reception was cordial and 
his conversation was Golden Sweet. He pushed his case and soon 
proved himself the victor, as cards were out shortly announcing the 
engagement. At the marriage Gideon Ewalt was best man and Miss 
Benoni Boiken Hubbardson was bridesmaid. 

To make a complete romance the two rivals for the hand of the 
young heiress met the two rivals who had sought to become the wife of 
the captain and matches resulted between Lady Minkler and Jonathan 
Wagner, and between the Duchess of Oldenburg and Ben Davis. 

The captain and his fair young wife arranged a wedding tour for 



214 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

the three couples together, and jjlans were fixed to leave by M axon's 
Early tour for Peck's Pleasant hotel at Pippin, a Newtown in Switzer- 
land, where the Roses Bloom and Talman's Sweet violets grow the year 
round in the valleys where the Transparent brooks mingle their songs 
with the sounds of birds and lowing herds. 

The party had a great time climbing mountains skirted with Russet 
forests, and found the Snows of many winters on the craggy peaks 
nearby. With the exception of Ben Davis, who is consumptively in- 
clined, all the party voted the trip the greatest event of their lives." 

From the foregoing it is plain to see that there are nearly one hun- 
dred varieties of apples that are not uncommon, although less than half 
this number constitute the bulk of the fruit we generally find handled 
in our markets. It has been said among some well informed apple 
men that outside of twenty to twenty-five varieties there is little of 
commercial interest. 

The old standbys for winter fruit such as Baldwins, Greenings, 
Spys, Russets, Kings, Pippins, Twenty Ounce, Spitzenbergs, Jonathans, 
Ben Davis, etc., claim first attention. Other varieties are usually re- 
ferred to as being "odd," and the term is well used. Perhaps a hun- 
dred aifferent varieties have been lost track of and forgotten in the 
history of fruit growing in this country. 

For a variety to survive it must be a good apple in appearance and 
flavor; it should also be a good keeper and should be capable of being 
produced at a nominal cost. Everything considered, it is not improbable 
that if a correct expression of opinion could be had from leading apple 
men not swayed by prejudice in some way, that the Baldwin would be 
found the favorite as an all around apple in barrels, and Jonathans in 
boxes. But different markets and varied trade requirements demand 
different varieties, and it is true that an assortment must be handled to 
get best results. 

Perhaps in this connection some comment on the Ben Davis apple 
will not be out of place, although the author realizes he is in danger 
of "treading on the tail of somebody's coat" when he speaks his honest 
sentiments in regard to this apple, as he believes there are more people 
deluded as to the real merits or demerits of this variety than were ever 
able to get a correct idea as to its real value. 

I shall try to refrain from knocking poor old Ben ; he has been 
knocked enough by those who have tried to get "freight charges" out 
of him when the markets are glutted. It is a well known fact that the 
Ben Davis is a good keeper, but an apple salesman once told the author 
pointedly that this quality should never be argued in favor of the Ben 



APPLES 215 

Davis, for said he "Wo want an apple lo sell and not to keep." Of 
course, he was only half rigiit. But the Ben Davis is absolutely power- 
less as an apple to overcome the lialf of the objection imi)lied in the 
salesman's remark. That is, the Ben Davis is utterly and absolutely 
lacking in some of the essential qualities that go to make a desirable 
apple. True, the Ben Davis is of good color, but the flavor is not 
there, and no amount of quibbling and false logic can make it compare 
with other better fruit. The strongest proof of this is found in the 
prices that usually prevail. Now, there is little sentiment in an Amer- 
ican dollar. The markets adjust themselves sooner or later. The good, 
desirable varieties of apples, like good securities, go at a premium. 
You cannot get away from this fact. It is only in rare cases that we 
see a Ben Davis selling at top prices. Why? 

The author is one of an increasing number in the trade who really 
believes a mistake ha* been made among many western fruit people 
in planting such an enormous acreage to Ben Davis apples. The 
trees thrive, the yield is generally good and the fruit can usually be 
moved at something like a profit. But if a variety of a better apple 
had been substituted for part of the acreage planted to Ben Davis 
it is the opinion of numbers of men that the aggregate profits from 
apple growing in the west would have been higher during the past ten 
years, and would be even higher in the future than are now in pros- 
pect. It is clear that some of the leading growers recognize this is 
true. Sentiment, I presume, causes some of them to deny the fact. 

But it seems the Ben Davis apple will be a bone of contention to 
the end of time. It is difficult to predict what the final status of this 
apple will be from a commercial standpoint. Poor old Ben ! He was 
idolized once upon a time as a hero, and like the people are fond of 
doing, he was probably set upon a pedestal only to be knocked down 
and forgotten. Those who have strewn flowers in his pathway, and 
shouted hosannas in his name may be the very ones who will yet deride 
him most bitterly and cry out the loudest to crucify him. We can never 
tell what people will do, especially those who grow Ben Davis apples. 
Let us hope if they ever make a change in selecting a variety to substi- 
tute for Ben Davis they will use good judgment and get a better apple; 
they could hardly get one that is worse. 

Those who own Ben Davis orchards and who may like this apple be- 
cause it has been fairly profitable sometimes, and who may be disposed 
to condemn the author for his alleged strictures on old Ben, should bear 
in mind that the author is speaking from the standpoint of the whole, 
and not from that of the individual. It is far from my intention to sav 



216 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

that the Ben Davis apple has not made some mone}', but it has also lost 
some money to its promoters, to growers, for it has lost them the oppor- 
tunity to get a real api^le in the i)lace of a roll of pulp in a coat of 
Morocco. Let us change the subject to a more pleasant theme. 

In view of the fact that during the past quarter of a century there 
has been such a marked increase in the number of apple trees in the 
United States it is quite natural that the question of possible overpro- 
duction is one that claims some attention from a strictly commercial 
standpoint. 

Before one can even attempt to answer the query: Is there real 
danger of overproduction of apples in the United States.'' it is necessary 
to consider a great many collateral factors, and perhaps qualify either 
a negative or affirmative answer with a half dozen conditions, for it is 
certain there are two sides to the question. 

Beyond doubt there are too many inferior apples grown in this coun- 
try. Quality is the great desideratum in the apple deal as in the case 
of other fruits. A great many apples that are put on sale every year 
in all our markets are often of more harm than good to the trade gen- 
erally. There are many reasons why this is true. The very presence 
of a bad apple on any market has a demoralizing effect, just as in the 
case of a decayed apple if kept among sound fruit for a short while. 
Those who are accustomed to watching the markets closely know that 
sharp breaks in prices are due in a majority of cases to an overload of 
poor, indifferent stock. There must be a heavy reduction in prices 
to move inferior apples when the market is oversupplied. Good stock 
suffers through sympathy when these slumps come from an excess of 
poor fruit. 

But we must have some No. 2 apples, say the devotees of the bulk 
apple deal. It is quite true that a certain class of trade must have a 
low grade apple and cannot use any other. But here is where the 
danger lies, and whence comes trouble so often. In trying to supply 
this class of trade the effort is too successful ; the markets are clogged 
up and demoralized. P'or the past few years individual growers appear 
to have done a little more real thinking on this subject and have come 
to the conclusion they have been too zealous in putting inferior stock 
on sale. Credit for improvement can hardly be attributed to good 
judgment so much as to heavy losses that have been occasioned from 
time to time by "saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung," as it 
were, which is certainly what the process of "packing everything" is 
when followed by so many growers. 

Obviously there should be some plan devised to determine what per 



APPLES 217 

centagt" of .stock of undergrade apples should be placed on sale in com- 
petition with better stock. It is the opinion of many experienced apple 
men that two-thirds or three-fourths of the poor stock should be used 
only for drying, canning, evaporating, cider or for other by-products 
instead of shipping to market to be sold to supply paupers and peddlers. 
No doubt many growers are blind to the actual quality of their fruit. 
Just because they grow and pack a lot of No. 2 stock will not serve 
to make buyers pay one cent above the market for it. We have ob- 
served how totally devoid of sentiment is the American dollar. It is 
notably true as applied to inferior apples. 

It is neither desirable nor possible to shut out all undergrade apples, 
for that would make it hard on some of the people to get any apples 
at all. But in order to supply this class of trade it is unwise to injure 
that other branch that uses better stock. There is the rub. I insist 
there should be a remedy worked out for this vexed problem of dealing 
with the over-supply of poor apples. How best to do it I shall not at- 
tempt to say. But there will be a way found in the course of a few 
years, and the man or set of men who are sensible enough to set the 
scheme in operation will be hailed as benefactors to the trade and the 
country generall)^ 

It can be done without injury or inconvenience to anyone, but with 
positive benefit to those who invest their money, time and thought in the 
handling of apples, and who are entitled to every reasonable safeguard 
to protect them against losses due to haphazard methods. There has been 
a woeful lack of system in handling poor apples. Both growers and 
dealers are to blame for this condition of affairs and the remedy lies 
between these two. Neither can put the remedy into effect without the 
co-operation and consent of the other. 

With respect to the better grades of apples we need hardly take 
more than a word to explain that there never has been and probably 
never will be a real overproduction of apples. That is, when good 
apples are sold at reasonable prices and are kept moving. This state- 
ment is, of course, predicated on the assumption that the country is in 
a flourishing condition. When business is bad, as it must be at times, 
it seems a few apples will go a long way. But remedy the frequent over 
supply of inferior stock, cut out crack brained speculation and there 
should never be any trouble in dealing with good apples. The people 
of this country have come to realize that the apple is a good thing to eat, 
and under normal conditions our people will spend money on things 
beneficial in so many ways as good apples are. 

This naturally suggests the question: How may the demand for 



218 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

good ajoples be stimulated? Can the quantity consumed be increased if 
a consistent campaign of advertising is followed out? Is a national 
apple day necessary to improve the demand throughout the country? 
These questions certainly furnish food for thought. No one who has 
studied the situation carefully will feel disposed to discount the possi- 
bilities of extending the demand for apples. What has been done in 
the case of western boxed fruit the past few years furnishes a good 
example of the possibilities in judicious advertising. But advertising 
can only supplement quality; it can never supply it or take its 
place. Once get the right quality and call attention to it, and the job 
is well nigh complete with the energy that the trade shows in pushing 
things. 

The author deems it both feasible and expedient for the trade to 
raise and use a fund to promote an advertising campaign for the pur- 
pose of educating the public regarding the benefits of eating apples. 
This could be done at a small cost to the thousands of people who devote 
most of their time to growing and marketing apples. Properly handled 
the results should be highly satisfactory. A comparatively small fund 
of a few thousand dollars would make a beginning in a round of pub- 
licity that would be calculated to develop amazing returns if the scheme 
is kept up and vigorously pushed from time to time. 

A campaign of publicity to enlighten apple growers would be as 
desirable as to educate the general public. Hardly more than one out 
of every hundred fully realizes the importance of careful spraying and 
proper care of orchards. The percentage of those who take care of their 
orchards is no doubt increasing, but much remains to be done in order to 
get apple growang on the proper basis all over the country. The far west 
has set a good example and the premium that most western fruit com- 
mands is sufficient to justify the prediction that the moral effect will 
not be lost, for our people generally will go your way if you show them 
they can make money by doing so. 

Those of us who have devoted any time to tliinking over the proposi- 
tion realize that a rigid spraying law is inevitable in a large portion 
of the United States in the near future if fruit growing, especially 
apples, is to continue an important and profitable industry. In a given 
locality a majority of growers may be ])rogressive and take the best 
care of their orchards, going to considerable troxible and expense every 
•season, only to liavc their work rendered useless by a few careless, laxy 
owners who allow their orchards to become hot beds for the develop- 
ment and spread of diseases and pests. Therefore, tlie edict of luii- 
versal, intelligent spraying is soon to become a reality everywhere. 



APPLES 219 

Those who refuse to keep abreast of the times will simply have to 
drop out of the game, for the element that aims at being progressive 
and jii'osperous cannot afford to be hampered and held back by a few 
drones. The matter of compulsory spraying has already been delayed 
too long; early action will help to prevent further losses to those who 
have investments in large fruit farms as well as those owning single 
orchards. 

Perhaps some remarks should be devoted to the subject of our export 
trade before this chaj^ter is finished. It is conceded, as we shall see 
in another chapter, that as a general rule our main concern in foreign 
markets is to take care of our surplus. Of course, there is nearly 
always a good demand in some European markets for a certain quan- 
tity of fine stock from this country, but the amount of apples of any 
kind that can be moved across the water to good advantage is a mere 
bagatelle compared with the immense amount of stock consumed in our 
own country. In a word, the exjDort trade in apples is purely an inci- 
dent in comparison with the traffic in domestic markets. More or less 
stock has been going from the far west to points in the orient the past 
few years, and that trade promises to show a healthy increase as time 
goes on. 

Apple by-products constitute an altogether interesting and important 
feature of the business of growing and handling the fruit. Were it 
not for canning, cider making, evaporating, drying, making jams, jellies, 
butter, brandies, vinegar, etc., it would be a difficult job to find profitable 
use for much of the undergrade stock every year. This is especially 
true during a season when apples are plentiful. For the past few years 
there has been complaint among the dealers in by-products that not 
enough stock can be had for their purposes. At the same time we find 
the dealers in the green fruit complaining that they have too much poor 
trashy stock. Obviously, the solution of the problem is to divert the 
poor fruit to its proper use. It is up to the growers to do this. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



POTATOES 



No extended argument is necessarv, I am sure, to establish the fact 
that the handling of potatoes in a wholesale or jobbing way is a branch 
of the produce business that is entitled to rank as a specialty. And by 
potatoes we mean the common tuber, because of reasons we shall sec 
before going far into the subject. 

When looked at from any standpoint we are bound to conclude that 
the volume of business transacted in handling old and new potatoes 
during a year ranks favorably if not actually ahead of any other single 
item in the fruit or vegetable line so far as the value is concerned. It 
is a difficult matter, of course, to form any definite idea about the enor- 
mous trading that is done in potatoes during a twelvemonth until we 
consider the fact that no other commodity is more widely used as a 
food product, and is so capable of as many styles of serving as the 
prosaic spud. 

On nearly every bill of fare in nearly every restaurant or hotel we 
find potatoes included with practically all meat orders, and it would be 
a poor sort of eating establishment that could not serve German fried, 
French fried, au gratin, shoe strings, mashed, hashed, boiled or baked 
potatoes along with any kind of meal. 

And what potatoes are eaten in the tens of thousands of restaurants 
and hotels throughout this country are as a mere handful when com- 
pared with the millions of homes of the rank and file of our people 
whose members must have a substantial diet, and who rely upon the 
potato as the best and cheapest all around dish for their purposes. As 
a rule people tire of almost any given article of food when they have 
it practically every day, but it seems that the potato is an ex<;eption to 
the general rule for it is eaten almost daily by a large majority of our 
people — the banker, the bricklayer, the minister, the moulder, the teacher, 
the teamster — all are devotees of the succulent spud to a greater or 
lesser extent. 

220 



POTATOES 221 

Were it not tliat wc arc concerned principally with the marketing 
end of the potato deal the author would feel inclined to go into this 
.subject more fully and try to show wlij' 2)otatoes have become such a 
staple food product in this country. Suffice it to say, that during a 
greater portion of the year potatoes are cheap, and this must be con- 
ceded to be a great factor in their wide use, for any food product 
to be widely used must be moderate in cost. But over and beyond 
the item of price there seems to be a preference shown potatoes by 
the American people that is hardly shared by any other vegetable. 
Whether or not this preference actuall}^ exists, could better be discussed 
under a strictly scientific head than we can well take up in this work, 
although we may not find it amiss to note this matter of preference in 
passing, for it can easily be seen that such a preference may give rise 
to some very important considerations from a strictly marketing or 
commercial standpoint. 

Those with even an inkling of the produce business know that the 
potato deal is classified under two distinct divisions, — the old and the 
new. At a glimpse it is plain to see what these divisions imply, and 
those who may not be famliar with the ins and outs of the business 
cannot do better than follow the English, as the words "old" and 
"new" are employed in designating the two deals in their strictest 
possible sense. 

Old potatoes are those which are kept for a considerable time in 
cellars, pits or warehouses after harvesting in the fall before putting 
on the market, while new potatoes are marketed and put into consump- 
tion soon after being dug in the spring. It is scarcely necessary to more 
than state in nearly all northern sections where potatoes are grown 
in a commercial way the trade have not found it either possible or de- 
sirable to market the entire crop as soon as harvested. The fact that 
the Northern and far Western crop, or at least a large portion of it, 
can be stored in warehouses, cellars or pits and kept as long as six or 
eight months makes it possible to feed these potatoes to the consuming 
public slowly, and at better prices than if they were all forced on the 
market at once or within a short period of time. 

But in the case of new potatoes the situation is entirely different. 
These are early potatoes, grown for the most part in the South and in 
the Southwest. They are grown and ripened in the early part of the 
year when there is more moisture in them than if produced later 
in the season from the same kind of seed in a higher latitude. Further- 
more, they are harvested in warm weather, and this is not conducive 
to long keeping. Over'and beyond this, new potatoes are usually 



222 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MxVRKETING 

Avorth more when they are dug than if kept for any considerable length 
of time, owing to the inevitable deterioration in qualit3\ 

In brief, tills serves as a broad distinction between the old deal and 
the new deal, as the terms are nscd and understood by the potato trade 
including both growers and dealers. That there are radical differ- 
ences in handling the two deals, that there are features which even differ- 
entiate the two sometimes so as almost to make them separate lines of 
business, we shall see as we go on. 

The states producing the major portion of our old potatoes from a 
commercial standpoint are, in the order named. New York, Michigan, 
Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania in the eastern and 
central part of the country, and California, Colorado, Oregon and 
Washington in the West. 

The average New York yield is estimated to run about 50,000,000 
bushels while the Michigan crop, which has been increasing regularly 
during the last decade, now comes in for a close second at around 
40,000,000 bushels. 

A great deal of the stock grown in INIaine, Wisconsin and Minnesota 
is used for seed purposes in planting the southern crop, and shipments 
from these states every season are estimated to run well up into the 
millions of bushels. But the potatoes required for seed purposes are 
a very small part of the total output in the states referred to. 

In nearly all leading producing sections of the foregoing states tliere 
are a great many operators who buy potatoes extensively at harvesting 
time and make a business of distributing them in a car-lot way during 
the fall, winter and spring to all parts of the country. At various points 
where shipping facilities are convenient enormous warehouses are used 
for storing these potatoes until they need to be shipped out on orders. 
These warehouses must be frost-proof, so as to protect the potatoes from 
extreme cold weather in the winter. 

The total commercial crop of potatoes in the United States is figured 
on an average to run somewhere' between 100,000,000 and .500,000,000 
bushels, and at the average prices on the farm of about .50 cents a 
bushel throughout the entire country it easily can be seen that the 
business resulting from growing and handling potatoes is one of enor- 
mous proportions. 

Witli respect to the early potato crop in the South and the South- 
west we have Texas in the West as the chief producer, with Oklahoma, 
Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana to make up the main portion of the 
balance in that territory. In the East Virginia easily has first place, 
and the immense output from around Norfolk and Cape Charles makes 



POTATOES 223 

|)otato growing one of the leading industries in that section. The 
three counties of Norfolk, Accomac and Northampton, lying in a tier 
on the seaboard, are credited with an annual average output of around 
3,000,000 barrels, and when one stops to figure out at the average 
price of $2 to $3 a barrel during the past few years for which these 
I)otatoes have sold at shipping points, it is not difficult to understand 
the almost imprecedented pros})erity which this district enjoys. 

While we are treating of these eastern potatoes grown along the 
middle Atlantic Coast it may not be out of place to refer to tlie spleildid 
yield in southern Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey which follows 
right after the Virginia crop, and which is of about the same run of 
(]uality. They are usually put up in much the same way as the Vir- 
ginia potatoes, and appear to have established the growers on an equally 
profital)le basis compared with Virginia. The potatoes grown in New 
Jersey and also on Long Island are of a larger size and generally sell 
for a premium if a fancy cooker is desired. 

While of less importance from the standpoint of the trade at large 
throughout the country, it cannot be denied that the production of 
potatoes in the state of Florida, especially in the Hastings section, is an 
industry of by no means second importance. These potatoes, owing to 
the fact that they come on the market at a time when there is no other 
new stock to compete with them, usually sell at very high prices ; it 
has been estimated that the average price of $5 to $6 per barrel at 
shipping points for practically the entire output of Hastings stock is 
perhaps the highest price paid for potatoes grown in any part of the 
United States. The output in that locality is estimated around 2,000,000 
bushels annually under favorable conditions. 

There are also quite a number of districts in Georgia, South Carolina 
and North Carolina where potatoes are produced in a commercial way, 
but they are of secondary importance as compared with the other early 
producing sections mentioned along the seaboard further north. 

On the Pacific Coast most of the new potatoes that supply markets 
in that section in the spring and early summer are produced in Cali- 
fornia, although it frequently happens that coast markets draw sup- 
plies out of Texas and Louisiana until their home grown crop is ready 
to market. The late crop of California amounts to millions of bushels 
a year. 

So far, our attention has been taken up with the variety commonly 
known as the Irish potato, — more i)roperly, solnnum tuberosum. Rut 
who cares a rap about seeing our old friend, Mr. Spud, dressed up and 
parading under a long Latin name? Perish the thought. Attention is 



224 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

directed to this matter chiefly for the reason that many people would 
think the sweet potato, which is another important consideration in the 
potato deal, had been discriminated against woefully were no mention 
made of that kind of potato while we are saying so much about the so- 
called Irish variety. 

And it would be rank discrimination to leave out of account the 
sweet potato, for it is also a potato and to a greater or lesser extent, 
a rival of the grandiloquent solanum tuberosum so far as public favor 
is concerned. Yet in spite of the wide use of the sweet potato, which 
is a most excellent food product I must admit, it is hardly one, two, 
three when compared with the Irish potato, old and new, so far as 
the nation's food supply is concerned. In saying this it may be ex- 
pedient to be specific in declaring that I have reference only to the 
volume of business handled and the value involved. 

In a large measure sweet potatoes are a delicacy with a majority of 
our people; Irish potatoes are a necessity. This is not exaggeration, 
but a plain statement of fact. Thousands of markets throughout the 
country which hardly handle a car or two of sweet potatoes during 
the season will probably take a car or two of Irish potatoes every 
week. In view of this fact it would seem that we are justified in this 
chapter if we shall refer to Irish potatoes as "potatoes," and sweet 
potatoes as "sweets." The relative importance of the two kinds of 
stock appear to make this method of designating them quite proper. 
If any excuse is necessary for this I have the everyday practice of 
the trade to offer, which is no more than I have done in the use of the 
names. 

Again the author feels it imperative to branch off from our subject, 
strictly speaking, and say a word or two about the origin of the potato, 
for it is amazing how many people are actually engaged in growing and 
handling potatoes who know little or nothing about the origin of the 
plant or its history, and Since many people in the trade have frequently 
approached the author for information on the subject he is persuaded 
to believe a few words might be devoted to the potato's historical aspect 
without harm to this treatise, or to the reader who may not have been 
so fortunate as to have been able to get the information from some 
standard work on the subject. 

Strictly speaking, the word potato comes from the Spanish "patata," 
while the botanical name, solanum tuberosum, is adopted from Lin- 
naeus, the famous Swtdisli botanist. The plant is of tlic nightshade 
family, and is indigenous to the plateau regions of North and South 
America. Early discoverers found the natives in South America cul- 



POTATOES 223 

tivating this plant, while it grew wild in the mountains, and is still 
found in the same state over a large area of certain favored sections. 

According to some writers on the subject the plant was carried from 
the western coast of South America to Spain early in the 16th century. 
So far as authentic records show, the plant was cultivated mainly for 
its flower, and the Spanish people made little or no use of the potato 
as an article of food. But for some reason it appears to have been 
brought from Spain to Virginia about the middle or the latter part of 
the 16th century. 

There is little dispute that the potato was carried to Great Britain 
by Sir John Hawkins in 1563, although there is some doubt as to the 
variety of potatoes introduced by Hawkins ; Sir Joseph Banks is of the 
opinion they were sweet potatoes. About 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh took 
some potatoes from Virginia or the Carolinas to an estate of his near 
Cork, Ireland. So far as can be learned definitely the first use of 
potatoes for food purposes was made by Europeans about this time. 
There is no authentic record to show that they were first eaten in Ireland 
as some suppose. 

The fact that the plant thrived in Ireland and the food became 
popular is the reason for the name Irish potato, and it is to the Irish 
that we really owe the potato after all, for how could the plant ever 
attain importance or respectability enough to be cultivated and cared 
for if the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle had never taken hold of the 
potato and proved that it is a fine article of food? 

In this connection it should be stated that in an English volume 
known as "Catalogus" issued by Gerard in 1596, and in a second 
edition in 1599, we find a description of the potato, the then strange 
new plant. In Gerard's "Herbal," published in 1597, there was an 
article entitled "Potatoes of Virginia," which was accompanied witli a 
rough wood cut, and which served to bring the nature of the potato 
before the English public. From this time on the potato has grown 
in favor and has become world wide in its use. 

Owing to the peculiar nature of the potato plant and its suscepti- 
bility to climate and soil conditions, scores and possibly hundreds, of 
different varieties of the plant have been developed. No doubt many 
varieties have "run out" and have been lost. Today we find less than 
twenty-five varieties constitute the bulk of the millions and millions of 
bushels raised every year by the hundreds of thousands of growers 
in practically every state in the union. Undoubtedly millions of dollars' 
worth of business is transacted every year in as few as a half dozen 
different varieties. It would hardlv be fair to omit the statement that 



226 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 



I 



possibly a fourth of the potato business handled in this country de- 
pends upon Rurals and Triumphs. 

In New England the Green Mountain leads as a table potato for 
winter use, while for early marketing the following varieties are used 
in the order named: Irish Cobbler, Early Ohio, Bovee, Early Rose, 
Wliite Ohio and the Gem of Aroostook. 

In the Middle West the favorite early variety is the Early May, while 
among the leading late varieties are the Washington, Gold Coin, Carman, 
Whitman's White, Mammoth and Sir Walter Raleigh. Other scatter- 
ing varieties are found here and there. 

In the far West and in the Northwest we find among the early varie- 
ties Beauty of Hebron, Early Eureka, Noroton Beauty and the Early 
Rose and Early Roser, which is not unlike the last named but one, in 
some respects. Among late varieties the Rural New Yorker is in a 
class by itself and is easily a favorite. Kings, Burbanks, Carmans, etc. 
are also found in nearly every section. 

In the South and Southwest the new crop is of Triumphs and Cobblers 
almost entirely, for these varieties have proved to be most satisfactory 
for all around use. So much for the varieties of the Irish potato. 

Of sweets there is a considerable range in varieties. The White 
Yam is most largely used, taking the country as a whole. The Yellow 
Yam is also a good potato for the markets that will use them, but it 
is peculiar the Northern markets have never been able to do much with 
these delicious morsels, a dry cooker being demanded by the Northern 
trade. The red "Nigger Killer" is but little heard of or sought after 
nowadays. 

Unlike Irish potatoes which are produced in all parts of the United 
States, the sweet potato as a commercial proposition is restricted to com- 
paratively few sections. While good sweets may be grown in half the 
states to advantage it remains true that New Jersey, Maryland and 
Virginia are relied on mostly for the supply for eastern markets, while 
Illinois, Iowa and Kansas are the heaviest producers of sweets in the 
West. In the South where sweets are used more extensively than 
elsewhere they are cultivated in nearly every locality. But these south- 
ern sweets are different potatoes from those grown further north, as 
they contain more moisture and make a different dish when cooked. 
Few of them in the south are kiln dried, whereas sweets in the north are 
generally kiln dried, graded, barrelled and handled on a different basis 
entirely. 

Reverting to the marketing phase of Iris4i potatoes, we can hardly 
consider a more important feature of the subject than the matter of 



POTATOES 227 

handling in bulk as compared with 100 pound or 150 pound sacks. 
Once there was little sacking; now it is so common and is such a popu- 
lar way of handling them that it seems only a question of time when 
all spuds will be sacked. As between 100 pound and 150 pound sacks 
for most markets the argument seems to lie with the former, mainly 
for two reasons : First^ the lighter sack is the more easily handled, and 
second, most potato bags are second hand, and are therefore not so 
strong as new bags. It is plain that a bag likely to be weaker than 
if new should not be loaded with too much weight. Another thing in 
favor of sacking is the fact that a car of stock is much easier to inspect 
and handle either in loading or unloading, and the shrinkage is reduced 
to a minimum when stock is sacked. For the Virginia, Maryland and 
Delaware stock barrels are used altogether. 

Among all shippers of northern potatoes the matter of lining box 
cars, and firing cars by means of stoves in frosty weather is a subject 
of deep interest always. 

The styles of lining are numerous, but mainly consist of an inner 
frame of scantling built within a box car which is coated with thick 
paper or cardboard so as to make an air chamber in the middle of the 
car, which must be looked after by an attendant while in transit. 

It is one of the anomalies of the potato shipping business that the 
railroads have not been compelled to fix up these lined cars. To prop- 
erly line a car requires an outlay of about $25. But when a shipper 
lines a car early in the season he is usually entitled to the use of the car 
back and forth during the winter, although some of the roads allow 
the cars to be "swiped" while being returned as empties. However, 
most of the roads nowadays reimburse shippers for the loss they have 
sustained when one of their cars is "lost" by virtue of being stolen. 
But some of them are slow about making settlement for "lost" cars. 

Before closing with the strictly commercial phases of the potato deal 
the author had in mind some suggestions and criticisms relating to cer- 
tain methods and practices generally found among the trade handling 
potatoes. 

First, the matter of correct, honest grading is one that will bear lots 
of talking about, for it is a source of trouble if not properly 
carried out. 

Those who know how to put up potatoes as they sliould be and will 
not, are to be censured. Those who want to assort and load properly, 
but who may make serious unintentional errors ought to be borne with 
and taught better, for there can be no doubt that they need sympathy 
and education. 



228 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Potato grading, so far as the old stock is concerned, is a very simple 
matter. A wire screen with meshes of certain size, usually IV2" or 2" 
square, is used for the potatoes to run over and if handled conscien- 
tiously there is small chance for a mistake in getting them properly 
put up. The main trouble with many growers and shippers is that 
they want everything they ship to be called "fancy," and to bring 
fancy prices. 

Carelessness is also the cause of much complaint over improper 
grading. Many a shipper who has had a rejection in a distant market 
could have prevented trouble in nine cases out of ten if he had taken 
reasonable precautions to see that the stock he shipped was what he 
sold. I am aware that the status of the market at destination when 
a car arrives has a whole lot to do with taking up a draft attached to 
a bill of lading, as shipments are usually made, but unless stock is up 
to grade there will be trouble with a majority of receivers. Further 
than to say that official grades should be established, and strictly ad- 
hered to, it would seem that further comment is unnecessary, particu- 
larly with those who have had their fingers burned and got the worst 
of a deal when they sold "fancy" stock and tried to deliver a bad 
"choice" or something worse. They are generally wiser for their costly 
experiences. 

To those familiar only in a general way with the handling of south- 
ern new potatoes it would seem strange to see anything like this chapter 

4ft 

without some comments on the carelessness and often downright crook- 
edness of some people engaged in that end of the business. 

The awful mess so frequently found in sacks of southern stock after 
being shipped to distant markets is certainly calculated to shake a 
man's faith in humanity, and there are many dealers who have nearly 
gone broke importing "real estate" in the form of mud and dirt that 
was unquestionably put into the sacks by somebody to perpetrate a 
swindle as raw and rank as any thief who robs a hen roost or snatches 
a purse. The idea of finding lumps of mud in lots of sacks as large 
as a man's head is revolting in the superlative degree. 

Of course, all shippers are not in this dishonest class. God forbid. 
But there are too many. It would be useless to try to enumerate 
Ihem, but just so many as they are, by so many too many are they. 
And you can rest assured they know their number each and every one, — 
growers, shippers and all. It cannot and i^ not possible that 10 to 25 
pounds of dirt and mud could get into a sack, and so man}'- of these 
sacks into so many cars — usually at the ends or placed where they 
cannot be easily detected — unless somebody knew about it and knew all 



POTATOES 229 

about it too. Such despicable methods have done a great deal more 
than many people suppose to cause trouble. Not only does it result 
in heavy losses of money that often have serious consequences, but 
the worst part is that confidence is often destroyed and men who ought 
to work in harmony are put into warfare, commercial warfare of 
course, but which has dire effects in the end, for the "dirt" causes 
fussing and trouble all along the line. 

Yes, I know the buyers are partly to blame for tlie state of things 
we are talking about. Over-anxiety to get stock, which results in a 
species of crazy competition, is in a large measure responsible for the 
grower's crookedness who sells dirt for potatoes. But however foolish 
and feverish buyers may be it is plain to see that it does not clear the 
crooked fellow who finds he has the opportunity to be a crook. That 
is no excuse whatever for the crook. Not by any means, and if there 
is any retribution, this crook — the fellow who sells dirt for potatoes — 
should "get his" and I hope he does, for in my candid opinion he is 
one of the worst kinds of crooks that infests the produce trade, bar none. 

And what is the remed}^.^ I am sure I do not know. I only wish 
I knew an infallible remedy, for I would patent it and not only stop 
the practice, but would also try to land a few of these crooks in the 
penitentiary to make examples of them as I have helped to do in the 
case of some of the more bold and confirmed rascals who set out un- 
mistakably for a steal, but at the same time were game enough to give 
their victims a run for their money. 

One very good plan I think would be to compel every association and 
car lot shipper of early potatoes to guarantee stock to be free from 
dirt and mud down to a certain percentage. I know this is difficult 
to get into operation, for when a sale is made on f. o. b. terms the 
f. o. b. inspection would usually be final. But why should it? Not 
every car can be carefully inspected at shipping point by the buyer. 

That is a physical impossibility and everyone knows it. The buyer 
must take the word of somebody else, and right there is where the 
trouble comes in, for a thief finds it easy to lie. 

Often cars of potatoes are bought by wire, and the distant jobber 
or dealer has no one upon whom to rely for inspection other than tlie 
association or car-lot loader from wliom he is making purchase. Maybe 
the car is in transit. It is represented to be such and such stock, and a 
bank guarantee is probably put up which is equivalent to cash. Wliat 
recourse is there when the unsophisticated dealer wakes up to find he 
has had a real job put up on liim ? In buying wliat he tliouglit was a 
car load of potatoes he often finds only about 90% to 95% of a car 



230 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

of potatoes and the rest plain dirt. Some shippers attempt to excuse 
themselves by saying mud is inevitable in digging when the ground 
is wet. That may be true to some extent, but not to the extent we 
often see in car-lots that show so much dirt. 

Were it not for the fact that dirt and mud weigh much more at initial 
points than at destination this trouble would not be so bad. But when 
a dealer planks down hard cash for 18,000 or 20,000 pounds of potatoes 
in a car and gets say 1,800 or 2,000 pounds or more of mud as often 
happens you see he is getting trimmed all around, for he has to pay 
freight on the whole business, — paying for stuff he cannot use, — and 
then planking down long green to the railroads to haul it maybe a 
thousand miles to him. Of course, when the car is unloaded there is 
a shrinkage that often takes away what should have been a good 
profit. There is a natural shrinkage in the real potatoes, but the 
weight of the dirt has also shrunk. Here is where it cuts into the 
profits; here is where many men have figured so industriously to find 
why they lost money often when it looked as though they had a sure 
thing. It is hardly necessary to state that these losses aggregate hun- 
dreds of thousands of dollars every season. 

It is quite clear to me that this kind of business cannot be kept up 
much longer. Some of my kind friends will no doubt accuse me of 
exaggerating the seriousness of this matter, and to such as may have 
any doubts as to the gravity of the problem I want to say if they could 
see some things I have seen and looked into they would feel as I do. 
It would be hard to overestimate the seriousness of this evil. 

Why is it very little dirt is to be found in cars coming from certain 
shippers at any season, rain or shine, while others show too much dirt 
be the weather what it may, 



CHAPTER XXIX 



CABBAGE 



If. I had been preparing a volume on produce affairs twenty-five years 
ago I would most likely have felt disposed to offer an apology for daring 
to devote more than a few paragraphs to the subject of marketing 
cabbage. 

In fact, it is probable that if a serious article had been prepared on 
the subject ten or fifteen years ago it would have been ridiculed by 
some of the very people who were peddling the vegetable when the 
wholesale price was based on so much a hundred heads instead of by 
the ton as is the case in selling winter cabbage nowadays. 

But the development of the cabbage industry has been so phenomenal 
as to be astounding. Instead of finding a more or less doubtful and 
insignificant business in handling cabbage, as was the case a generation 
ago, we now have a highly organized specialty in this commodity 
whose volume easily involves several million dollars a year. 

Our concern, however, is chiefly with methods employed in handling 
the business, and before the subject is dropped I hope to point out 
some things that are perhaps well known to the trade generally, but 
often overlooked or forgotten, as there are many things connected with 
the business that seem to be hardest to discern by the very people 
engaged in the buying, storing, shipping and selling of cabbage. 

Of the different varieties of cabbage we shall have little to say, and 
for convenience it will answer our purposes to consider broadly two 
classes, viz : early and late. 

In the first division we naturally include the crop produced in the 
south and southwest which comes on the market the first half of the 
year and is made up of Flat Dutch, Early York, Louisville Drumhead, 
Charleston, Wakefield, etc., and which is usually shipped in crates hold- 
ing from 75 to 150 pounds. Of course, I refer to the slat crates which 
are loaded into a car that is usually shipped during the spring and 

231 



2S2 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

suimner under refrigeration. About handling this early stock I shall 
have more to say later on which will apply partly, if not wholly, to 
the other kind of cabbage as well. 

When we come to consider cabbage in the more northern states we 
have a different proposition from what we find in the early varieties. 
Strictly speaking there are two distinct varieties of cabbage in northern 
territory, exclusive of the red cabbage which falls into a class by 
itself. 

Danish and Holland cabbage, i. e. stock grown from imported seed, 
are practically identical, and they are the nucleus of the whole indus- 
try. Both are white, mature late into hard heads if the plant has 
proper cultivartion and is grown on the right soil under favorable weather 
conditions. 

Domestic cabbage is closely akin to the Danish or Holland stock 
but usually comes on the market somewhat earlier, and does not have 
the keeping qualities of stock grown from genuine imported seed. The 
heaviest demand for domestic stock is for sour kraut and for supply- 
ing the early demand before the stock grown from imported seed is 
ready for shipment. 

By all odds the cabbage grown from imported seed is the most im- 
portant item in the business. Both York State and Wisconsin produce 
a tremendous amount of this stock which is shipped from October until 
well along into the following April and May. Continued shipping for 
six or eight months easily foots up to several thousand cars from each 
state. It should be stated that more or less winter stock is also grown 
in Michigan which is distributed over a wide territory. On the Pacific 
Coast a great section is supplied with cabbage grown in the Puget 
Sound region, where some very fine stock is produced. In addition to 
the states referred to more or less winter cabbage is grown in Colorado, 
Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. But as a 
general proposition the stock grown in these last named states runs 
largely to the domestic instead of the pure Danish or Holland kind. 
In the Greeley, Colorado, section the Scotch Cross variety is grown 
quite extensively. 

Despite the fact that our concern in this volume is primarily with 
marketing matters it is essential to digress for a brief spell from the 
strictly commercial features so as to get a line on the inside of the 
nature of the cabbage deal by having a little glimpse at the cabbage 
plant itself. 

Even those who have taken only a passing interest in cabbage know 
that it is a plant which grows best in the higher latitudes. It would 



CABBAGE 2^3 

not he .stating an untruth to .say cahbagc is a cool weather plant, for 
when taken to a hot climate it "runs out" when the second or third 
crop is planted, and becomes what is called a "collard," well known 
in the south. 

Domestic stock is the first step in the production of the collard. 
The gai3 between the real hard headed winter stock grown from im- 
ported seed, and the "blue stem collard" is like the descent from the 
garret to the cellar. By this no offense is meant to the intermediate 
variations, of course, as the foregoing comparison is only cited to convey 
some meaning as to the wide range in the several kinds of stock in 
this country. 

From a marketing standpoint no one feature of the cabbage business 
is more important than proper selection of the right kind of seed so 
as to begin right. In southern territory only the domestic cabbage can 
be successfully grown. To attempt the use of imported Holland or 
Danish seed for early planting would bring certain disaster to the 
southern grower. But in the northern sections where winter cabbage 
is grown it is short sighted policy to resort to cheap domestic seed which 
is often represented by unscrupulous seedsmen as being as good as the 
imported seed. 

For an early crop to be used for kraut purposes, or for putting on 
the market in summer, or early in the fall, domestic stock may be what 
is best for many growers, but when it comes to planting for a crop to 
store and keep for marketing late in the winter and early in the spring 
we can make no mistake in deciding that every argument is in favor 
of genuine imported seed. 

The fact that there is a difference in the co.st of the two kinds of 
seeds should not really enter into the question of which kind to use. 
Generally the imported seed can be had at $3 to $4 a pound while 
domestic seed can be bought for $1.75 to $2 a pound. Now, a pound 
of seed will ordinarily plant about 5 acres in cabbage, and when fig- 
ured on the lowest average yield of 12 tons to the acre we see that 
the cost is about five or six cents per ton for the seed used. But it is 
more often that the yield of cabbage in the best northern sections is 20 
to 25 tons per acre, and when the yield is more the cost of the seed 
becomes insignificant when compared with the difference in the keeping 
quality and selling price between domestic stock and cabbage grown 
from imported seed. 

In some sections there has been so much complaint on account of a 
tendency to mix Holland and domestic stock which is all called the 
"real" Holland or Danish stock that some dealers have talked of fixing" 



^34r PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

a different scale of prices to cover the straight and mixed kind of stock. 
Perhaps this is about the only way that growers can be brought to a 
realization of the fact that it is false economy to save at the spigot 
and waste at the bung so far as seed is concerned. In a word^ poor 
seed of the wrong kind will be dear at any price, and when a good 
winter cabbage is desired the right kind of seed may be cheap although 
it costs ten times the price asked for the wrong kind. 

To get back to our original subject of marketing: Cabbage is a 
conundrum half the time. An old cabbage man who has been studying 
the deal for years told the author once that it is his opinion that cab- 
bage will go "wrong" about an average of two years out of every five. 
He would not attempt to explain why this is the case. Maybe his 
average was figured too high, yet it does seem this vegetable is callable 
of performing some peculiar acts. 

It is always a puzzle to find out exactly what the crop is and how 
much has been marketed up to a given time after being stored. In 
the west you will hear the dealers asking how much stuff is left in 
York state and at what prices they are loading, and in the east they 
are all eyes and ears to find what is doing in Michigan, Wisconsin and 
Colorado. 

Cabbage is tricky and treacherous. You can never count the deal 
all in until the last car has been shipped. It so happens that the last 
few cars will often make a wise trader more money than the entire 
season's business. It is nearly always true that just as the deal is on 
its last legs the market gets a bulge that makes everybody stand aghast 
and wish for some of the stock that had recently been sold for fear it 
would have to be dumped out of warehouses. Of course, these late 
deals are risky and those who are well versed in the game do not 
favor taking long chances on many cars for the sake of making a few 
dollars. If weather conditions have been favorable for growing a new 
crop in the south most of the warehouses are unsafe in the north after 
April 1 or even March 1, sometimes. 

The speculative element has helped to make the cabbage deal dan- 
gerous. What has been said in preceding chapters about the evils of 
speculation apply to the cabbage game with full force. But it would 
be unfair to the commodity we are discussing to say that it does not 
offer exceptional possibilities to those who can master its peculiarities. 
Some men study cabbage as a banker studies banking, and are careful 
to gauge the general produce outlook before they go strong into the 
game of speculating. These fellows who size up the ground most 
carefullv are usuallv the traders who make money out of the deal. 






Ok- ^ 










CABBAGE 235 

When tkey see that conditions do not warrant high prices during the 
fall season when stocks are going into warehouses, they prefer to let 
the other fellows have the whole crop if they feel disposed to pay the 
necessary price. 

Many a dealer with a warehouse or two in producing districts figures he 
must put away some cabbage to take care of his trade, but it is a qeustion 
if he is not taking a short sighted view when he begins investing thousands 
of dollars in cabbage just to fill his warehouses, and by doing so all 
but empty his pocket book, and perhaps cripple his business to such 
an extent that it will take several good years to catch up where he 
left off. Operating warehouses and supplying one's trade is one thing, 
but doing business at a sure, though small profit, is quite another thing. 
Too many fingers have been burned in handling cabbage to require 
any further argument. 

This brings us to the point of considering the warehouses as a factor 
in the winter cabbage deal. Generally these houses are owned and 
operated by private parties. Of course, there are times when they are 
a great advantage to their owners, and if stock could always be bought 
in the fall at a price that would insure a profit they would make the 
cabbage business a gold mine. But things are not always ideal in buy- 
ing and selling cabbage. This much is true, the warehouses have had 
the general effect of making the cabbage business speculative. Grow- 
ers see dealers make some long profits one season and next year they 
take the position that they must have more money for their stocks, 
and will not contract their fields for anything like a reasonable price. 
Often they force the market up and get caught with a lot of cabbage 
which has to sell for much less money than they could have gotten 
had they taken a reasonable price and sold early. 

The author does not feel called upon to say whether warehouses 
are best for every car lot dealer. This is a question that every operator 
must decide for himself. But wherever a house or a chain of houses, 
is decided upon it should be the unvarying rule to have them con- 
structed after the most approved plans for heating and ventilation. 
They should be built from carefully prepared plans and should be on 
a railroad spur or side track, or the cost of loading will be greatly in- 
creased when stock has to be taken out and transferred some distance, 
and maybe in zero weather at that. A suitable location is often half 
the battle in successfully handling a warehouse. 

When to buy and when to sell are problems every cabbage dealer 
would give a lot of money to know how to solve, especially at certain 
critical stages of the game. Obviously the best time to buy is when 



236 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

prices are right. But that gets us little nearer finding wliat is the 
right time to lay in a supply if one is to put away stocks. 

So much depends upon so many things that I am sure no hard and 
fast rule can be laid down for buying. The visible supply, the gen- 
eral movement and the business conditions generality have to be borne 
in riiind. No two seasons can be handled just alike, although the ex- 
perience of one year will serve to help a sensible man to a proper 
conclusion as to what he shall do in some other season. Some old deal- 
ers declare $5 per ton for Holland stock should be the outside price 
to pay. 

When to sell is when you see a fair profit. That is elementary. 
Those who follow after Shy lock and try to squeeze out the last penny 
from a head of cabbage, will get stuck sooner or later. Maybe they 
should be. 

Handling cabbage for a dollar or two a ton is not bad business 
where dealers are buying, loading and shipping car lots from day to 
day. Sometimes a lucky streak will develop whereby $3 or $4 a ton 
profit comes to the wise trader who can size up the market several 
days or weeks ahead. It has been the lot of some dealers once in 
a great while to clean up long profits close to 100^, on their invest- 
ments, but this can hardly be expected twice in a lifetime unless some 
abnormal factor enters into the game. Like every other branch of 
the produce business the cabbage deal is hurt generally when everyone 
tries to overdo a good thing. 

From the foregoing we might raise the question: Can a profit be 
assured to cabbage growers and dealers every year by co-operation in 
holding the deal on conservative lines? I would hesitate to answer this 
question in the affirmative, but at the same time it is quite clear that 
a little horse sense among the cabbage growers, shippers and dealers 
would help wonderfully in saving losses, if not in making profits. 

If growers will not consent to a general understanding the dealers 
should get together and at least fix a limit beyond which they will not 
go. I fancy somebody will be screaming for an anti-trust law to stop 
this "restraint of trade," and such other talk as comes now and then 
from certain weak-kneed "sisters" who cannot bear to think of joining 
hands even for mutual protection. I make this suggestion because I 
do not think a trust in cabbage is either possible or desirable. What 
I do think is the height of folly, however, is for a lot of numskulls to 
get out at a loading station, and try to see who can give away the most 
money and get the least for it. If it were in the name of charity I 
should say not a word, but when it is done under the guise of business 



CABBAGE 237 

it is comically foolish. I-ct u.s hope the money is more wisel}' invested 
by the saner people who get it. 

Now, there is plenty of business in this old world for ever}^ decent 
business man, I believe. Your competitor may not look like an Apollo 
Belvidere in your estimation, but he is in the deal nevertheless. Better 
work with him as far as you can instead of working against him all 
the time. It will do you both good to exchange views now and then. 
You will be surprised how much business you find that somebody else 
is doing that you never heard or dreamt about before. 

What applies to the dealers is also true of the growers. Yet it seems 
hardly worth while to take up time with the case of the growers, for 
they usually get the full benefit of the dealers' coin that is squandered 
so often trying apparently to put one another out of business. 

But the growers ought always to be considered, and it is essential for 
them to get a fair return on their investment in producing a crop of 
cabbage or of anything else. Taken by and large it is improbable that 
a subscription fund will ever be necessary for any needy cabbage grow- 
ers in the sections where winter cabbage is grown. 

The following outburst relative to the peculiar virtues of the cabbage 
would be unworthy of our notice were it not the composition is 
that of a man of Racine county in Wisconsin, which is one of the great- 
est cabbage producing sections in this country. Just think of this 
assault upon an innocent head of cabbage that neve^r did any harm 
except smell as nature intended ! 

• 
AN ODE TO THE CABBAGE 

Now, dear old Pegasus, deal kindly, I pray. 
With the green Neophyte who is mounting, today ; 
Who imagines that he has a theme, that should charm 
That part of Creation that lives on the farm. 

Many poets have sung of the lily, so fair. 
And the roses and posies, both common and rare. 
Of the ripe barley-fields, and the tall tasseled corn. 
And of their sweet breath, that on breezes are borne. 

They have lauded the peony, the thyme, and the rue, 
The sunflower, the clover and the lark-spur so blue, 
They have gone into ecstasies over the oak 
And all the bright favorites that Springtime awoke. 



2S8 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

But where among poets, either early or late, 
Have you run across one who has troubled his pate, 
To speak for the cabbage — e'en a faint word of i)raise — - 
Altho' it is setting the world in a blaze. 

• So here's to the cabbage with its head, round and green, 
With its rubicund looks, and its smile so serene, 
With its crisp tender heart, and the perfume it yields, 
As it stands on its one sturdy leg in the fields. 

Sure — thou are not of that ephemeral train. 

That wilts in the sun or a shower of rain, 

Or shows the white feather, with the first bite of frost, 

And drop thy leaves quickly as tho' all were lost. 

'Tis true, you are a little too large, we must say. 
To make a real nobby, choice buttonhole bouquet. 
But while to thy size, the objection holds well. 
We defy thy detractors to side-track thy smell. 



CHAPTER XXX 



ONIONS 



From a commercial standpoint onions present some really curious 
aspects. Probably no produce commodity fools more people more times 
if followed in a speculative way than the onion. Being a hard proposi- 
tion to size up at any stage of the game so far as the actual supply 
goes, we are also puzzled half the time to arrive at a reasonably safe 
guess as to how many onions the nation will eat within a given period 
of time. 

Then again, onions defy experts when it comes to telling how they 
will keep. Too often we have heard a sad story about some speculator 
who had a nice bunch of stuff in a good warehouse which was "as 
hard as a hickory nut" when put away that went to the bad before he 
knew it, and thus lost what gave promise of a nice profit. This does 
not always happen to be sure, but I submit it has occurred often 
enough to warrant my saying that onions are bad "black-legs" to gamble 
with. When there is a heavy shrinkage in a big stock of onions the 
resultant losses may be almost ruinous, even to a millionaire. 

Still, by a careful selection of the best varieties of domestic stock, 
and with proper handling of the northern grown crop there is generally a 
fair profit in the onion deal. 

Yellows, reds and whites are produced in northern territory and are 
used in the order named so far as quantity is concerned. It will hardly 
be necessary to say for the benefit of the trade generally where our com- 
mercial onion supply is grown, but for the information of those outside 
the trade I might say that a half dozen states grow the winter onions 
used for pretty nearly the whole country. 

New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin pro- 
duce practically all the northern onions consumed in the United States. 
The Pacific Coast is supplied mostly by California, Oregon and Wash- 
ington. • 

239 



240 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Bermuda onions in this country are produced mainly in Texas and 
California. These are either the white or the yeiiow crystal wax. Al- 
though capable of being kept in storage for some time, they are usualW 
pushed into consumption and used up shortly after they are put on 
the market in the spring and early summer. 

In addition to the onions grown in the United States we usually im- 
port quite a bit of genuine Bermuda stock from the Bermuda Islands, 
as well as some Denia onions from Spain, and some Egyptian stock. 
These are higher priced onions and are more restricted in their sale for 
this reason. 

With respect to successful onion marketing we are confronted by a 
number of important considerations, both from the viewpoint of the 
commercial grower as well as the car lot shipper and jobber. 

The first injunction I would give every person pretending to grow 
or ship onions is to study the market outlook every season, and the 
daily situation carefully when stock is ready to move or is actually 
moving. Every piece of information and every divergent view should 
be fully considered. The deal is too broad and too intricate for any 
one man to get a monopoly on ideas relating to making money on 
onions. 

Those who have had experience in both producing and distributing 
know successful marketing is more difficult than producing them. I do not 
mean to underestimate the growing end ; I cannot overestimate the sell- 
ing end. To market onions and show a good profit it is first necessary 
to have good stock properly harvested and prepared for selling. 

As a general rule Bermudas are put up in wooden crates made of 
slats and held together by a large wire spindle at the corners to fasten 
the slats one on another, and which makes an elegant package, for 
perfect ventilation is secured, and onions can easily stand ventilation 
as they sometimes heat quickly and are badly injured if not carefully 
handled. While these slat crates perhaps come a little high in price, 
experience seems to have shown conclusively that their use is a good 
investment, for it makes the stock show up to better advantage and 
command a higher price. 

Northern stock is generally handled in bulk or in sacks containing 
a bushel or a bushel and a half. Some trade can use bulk better than 
sacks and vice versa. Naturally, therefore, it is a matter of giving 
your trade what is wanted. In this connection I will say, however, that 
I believe it would be a good idea to put up the best stock in crates 
and build up a trade for that style of package. What has been done 
in handling Bermuda onions furnishes a good basis for an opinion 



ONIONS 24,1 

as to what could be done with our best northern grown stock if the 
onions are selected and handled as they should be. 

In the hope I may offer an idea or two that may help someone I 
desire to say a few things about the actual handling or the market- 
ing end, and point out a few pitfalls and quicksands that I know have 
given trouble and made losses for not a few. 

First, I wish I could impress upon everyone that it is essential for 
all onions to be thoroughly dried out before packing for shipment or be- 
fore putting into storage. A cool, dry place is best to keep them, and a 
large shed is bully for spreading them out after hauling in from the fields 
where they have lain temporarily after being pulled^ so some of the 
water in them will have a chance to evaporate. If onions are well cured, 
sound and dry, they can be kept longer and sold for much better prices 
than if handled improperly and are put away in careless shape. In 
no line of produce do we see a better example of what can be done in 
the way of securing an extra profit by using a bit of horse sense and 
"elbow grease" than in taking care of onions and putting them up 
properly. 

Another thought that presents itself to me is the matter of frozen 
onions, which often have to be dealt with in the winter. Some old men 
in the produce business, I have found, do not seem to know that if 
onions are properly handled the frost can be taken out, and that the stock 
is practically as good as ever. But frosted stock must have immediate 
attention. If spread out in a cool room and left for a day or two 
they will usually come around all right. Even when frosted as hard 
as a rock they can be thawed out gradually and nearly always sold 
for the full market price. Of course, freezing does not do an onion 
any good and is to be avoided when possible, and I only refer to the 
matter of handling frosted stock because I have known of several com- 
ical cases where some of our good jobbers in different markets have 
thrown up their hands in holy horror when they found some onions 
that had been frozen mixed in a car of good stock. 

While we are considering marketing phases I would be glad if I 
could answer the question I have been asked so often "What is the 
best plan for the commercial grower to follow in marketing so as to insure 
the most money?" So far as the Texas and California Bermudas are 
concerned it seems that the pooling into an association is the best plan, 
although some growers prefer to do their own selling, and seem to get 
very satisfactory results that way. 

In the case of northern onions, the seal of experience is clearly in 
favor of the individual grower making his own plans, selling to local 



242 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

buyers or shipping in car lots to commission houses. If he prefers to 
sell f. o. b. he generally finds someone at his railroad station who will 
buy even if he cannot sell them in the field as is often the ease, and 
sometimes before harvesting. Now and then a large grower who can 
load straight cars prefers to load and ship to some market, having 
made a sale before shipping or turning over to someone to have the car 
sold for his account. 

Perhaps the pool will never make much headway in the northern 
onion deal. Growers have plenty of time and are not pressed to dis- 
pose of their holdings as is the case of the grower of Bermuda onions 
in the south who must generally make hay when the sun shines and sell 
his onions while he may. It is a matter simply that must be regulated 
by conditions. Those who have succeeded by following after some one 
plan should continue in the same way until there is a good reason 
to change. But it is a question that must be thought out carefully. 

Owing to the tremendous proportions the onion set business has as- 
sumed I would like to go- into a discussion of some of its phases but 
cannot do more than refer briefly to some points that have suggested 
themselves to me from time to time. 

Practically the entire supply of onion sets used in this country are 
grown in Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio. Some other localities, of course, 
grow some sets, but not in such quantities as the states just mentioned. 
It will no doubt seem peculiar to some people who read this to find that 
there are hundreds and hundreds of people engaged in the growing of 
sets alone. When we come to consider the fact that they are handled 
in car loads, and shipped into every part of the country we can easily 
see that the onion set industry is no small one within itself. As a 
matter of fact, there are a number of large firms whose chief business 
the year around js handling sets. They contract them in the fields, 
and even before the crop is planted they make sales for future delivery 
to their customers, contingent upon the production of the crop, of 
course. 

And there are some peculiar things about these sets which I am 
tempted to go into and would were it not that we are dealing mostly 
with marketing matters. But since the writer has found so many people 
who had no notion of the difference between a set and an onion it may 
not be out of place to say that a set is merely a little onion, a form 
of seed, which will produce a stalk rather than a bulb when planted. 
The set must not be over a half incli in diameter, and from tliat size 
down is used to grow the garden variety to be used green for the table. 
When sets are run over a screen the larger sizes are taken out to be 
used for pickling usually. 



ONIONS 243 

Commercial onions are grown generally from genuine onion seed, the 
domestic kind coming mostly from -California, and the Berdumas from 
the Bermuda Islands. But it is another peculiar thing that if the seeds 
are planted very thick they grow up into a slender stalk and bear more 
seeds in a cluster on top, whereas if given i or 5 inches between each 
hill there will be but little top and the bulb forms at the root which 
results in the round onion. 

Before ending this chapter I want to say a word about disinfectants. 
We have become so accustomed to reading the jokes we find in the papers 
about the smell of onions that I only wish somebody would develop an 
odorless onion. But then it would not be an onion. Since we apparently 
cannot separate an onion from its smell I can only hope some remedy 
can be found to counteract the unpleasant odor that people have to en- 
dure when coming into contact with a person who is fond of this odiferous 
globule, and has indulged his appetite fully. It is simply horrible unless 
we go and do likewise. Personally the author is fond of all kinds of 
onions, and only regrets that because of the smell he eats only a small 
part of what he would like. 

He will be a real benefactor to the whole human race, and especially 
so to onion growers and dealers who will by cross breeding or otherwise 
develop a new strain of onion or garlic that will give us the effect with- 
out the smell. It would result in making millions of people eat onions 
often and freely who now taste sparingly and infrequenth^ for fear of 
being ostracised by all civilized people who are cursed with a delicate 
olfactory nerve. 



CHAPTER XXXI 



MELONS 



In treating this subject it will hardly be worth while to more than 
make a cursory survey of the melon field so far as our purposes are con- 
cerned^ and advance a few suggestions with reference to the commercial 
aspect of melons. 

Naturally the subject falls under two subdivisions, — watermelons and 
cantaloupes, as these are mainly the kinds that interest the trade and a 
majority of the readers of this work. While data of a historic nature 
would make this chapter too long if indulged in as much as the author 
would like, and as many readers would perhaps appreciate, still some 
slight notice should be taken in passing of the two kinds of melons we 
have under consideration. 

The watermelon is a hot weather plant that is said to have originated 
in Asia Minor, and has been cultivated for centuries in various countries. 
It is true the melon they grow is not produced in just the same way as 
ours, but they are said to be the same in most essential features. One 
variety is grown underground, that is, the melons form on the vine like 
a potato. Travelers say these melons are delicious and their juice is 
highly prized as a drink. No doubt the story will seem strange to many 
people in the trade who have been accustomed to the melons grown in the 
United States, and will think it strange that a similar melon, perhaps not 
quite so large, can actually be grown under the soil as people in parts of 
Asia Minor are said to produce them. It is further stated that pigeon 
manure is used almost exclusively where it can be obtained to grow tlie 
finest kinds of old world melons. This is^ merely referred to as a hint to 
those interested in turning out a better melon in this country, and where 
experience shows fertilizer of this kind to be excellent for the purpose. 

Of the leading varieties of watermelons in this countrj^ we have the 
following which are known as the best commercial kinds: Kolb Gems, 
Tom Watsons, Triumphs, Sweethearts, Monte Christos, Alabama 

244 




«fl 













I 



1L' 



^-. 



. "'.'^t * 






A'i' 



t*V. 



■ ■ ■ -s.^ 



MELONS 245 

Sweets, Bradfords, Rattlesnakes and Icebergs. It is hard to say which 
is the "best" melon for it depends on the market and the season to a 
large extent. Taken as an all around melon perhaps the Kolb Gem 
would be voted a favorite by a majority of those who grow, ship and 
handle melons, though its eating qualities cannot be compared to some 
others. Owing to the fact that this melon has a thick rind it can stand 
more jolting and jostling than some of the other more fragile kinds 
that seem literally to go to pieces where a Kolb will stand up and sell 
at a fair j^rice. For any melon to be worth while from a commercial 
point of view it must bear shipping well. 

But where they can be marketed without being injured in transit it 
seems to the writer that there are other varieties that have many points 
in their favor, such as the Tom Watson, Triumph, Sweetheart, Monte 
Christo, Alabama Sweet and Rattlesnake. 

And while we are on the subject of transportation it may not be out of 
})lace to say that there is no commoditj^ in the produce field that is 
more deserving of attention so far as lower and more equitable freight 
rates are concerned than watermelons. It is quite true they are highly 
perishable and when a car is delayed or damaged before reaching a 
market, and is thrown upon the hands of the railroads to sell for freight 
charges it is almost a certainty that it is a dead loss, for there is noth- 
ing quite so worthless to a produce man than a car of bum watermelons, 
especially when the market is overstocked, and that is usually when 
most of the bad cars seem to turn up to be turned down. 

Now, if a dealer in the trade who knows all the crooks and turns in 
selling melons cannot do anything with them, so much the more are the 
railroads powerless to recoup themselves and get anything for melons 
that the consignor don't want and the consignee won't have. But it 
frequently happens that the excessive freight charges are the main cause 
for demoralized markets as the price for melons is so high that they meet 
a slow sale and keep piling up with the result of heavy losses often for 
those who have bought them, as melons must be sold when they come on 
the market and cannot be held indefinitely awaiting a more favorable 
turn in market conditions. 

Why it is that lower rates cannot be secured on watermelons is hard 
to see, because the railroads would get to haul a great many more cars 
as they would be cheaper to the consumer and many more slices and 
halves as well as whole melons would be used if the average price were 
shaded a bit. Based on the value of the tonnage the writer does not 
hesitate to say it is impossiJ)le, with maybe one or two exceptions, to find 
a commodity whose market value is so small and where such a heavy 



246 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

tariff is demanded by the raih'oads as applies to watermelons. The bulk 
of the melon is rind and is worth nothing, yet it has to jDay as high or 
even a higher rate than many other produce commodities which are valu- 
able even to the box or package in which they are shipped. 

But to the writer's mind it has seemed that if the railroad people 
would stop and think how the traffic in watermelons would be almost 
doubled if the freight rates were more reasonable, and that they would 
get a substantial increase in their total revenues by reason of a lower rate 
on melons, they would be disposed to make some concessions that would 
work a triple blessing to the grower, shipper and dealer who could enjoy 
a more steady market during the melon season and would also fit in 
nicely to fill the dull summer gap in the tonnage of some of the more 
important lines that haul most of the melons. 

Looked at from any standpoint there is a lot of food for thought in 
this question of lower rates on watermelons and it seems if the trade in- 
terested should make a concerted effort to get a more reasonable rate, 
at least from leading producing districts to the larger markets where 
most of the melons are consumed, and where a great many more could 
be taken if they could be run out to the jDublic at a slightly lower 
average price. This would greatly simplify the problem of uncertain mar- 
kets every season. 

As in the past watermelons will continue to be produced all over the 
Southern states in sufficient quantity to supply the country during the 
summer, and as the season advances sections farther north as high as 
latitudes 35 to 40 degrees come in with liberal crops for the late sum- 
mer and early fall trade as long as there is a demand for melons in the 
central states. On the Pacific coast watermelons are grown in abundance 
as far north as Washington and Oregon and these are used largely to 
supply the northwestern and coast trade. 

Shippers generally could greatly improve the melon trade by devoting 
more care to loading and trying to get a better average weight in the 
melons they ship. Too often cars are loaded carelessly and billed out 
to some dealer or buyer and the information given, if any, is too meagre 
for making a sale as promptly as would be the case if the size and 
number of the melons had been definitely known in time. And when a 
car is loaded with 25 or 30 pound average the melons should weigh 
whatever average is reiDresented. 

For the convenience of the trade the following table will enable ship- 
jiers and dealers to get at the average from the count, and generally 
sjjeaking, it will be found to apply to shipments from all sections and 
in all seasons: 



MELONS 247 

Melons running from l,oUO to 1,100 count will average '20 pounds, 
from 1,100 to 1/200 count 2 1 pounds, 1,100 count 25 pounds, 1,000 count 
30 pounds. 900 count 35 pounds and 800 count 10 poinids. By keeping 
this in mind dealers can tell readily about what melons the}'^ will get 
in a car of a certain average. 

On the subject of cantaloupes there are many observations that might 
be set down, but the author believes only a few general remarks will be 
worth while. 

Until a few years ago^ as time goes, the cantaloupe was produced only 
on a limited scale by farmers and gardeners for, home or local use, but 
lately we have seen the acreage increase a thousand fold in several parts 
of the country. In California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, 
Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, as well as 
in several sections in the Eastern states, we find many farms and ranches 
devoted to the cultivation of this melon, and upon the whole the industry 
has been a highly profitable one. although not every season has made 
money for the growers. 

Bad weather, bad markets and bad methods have often caused growers 
to swear off only to see them "try their luck" again the next season, 
for those who get a taste of the easy money or hear of the success of 
others producing melons are usually sure to keep it up until they make a 
killing or go broke. It is altogether a hazardous speculation, this can- 
taloupe business. Frequently dealers and commission men who have 
made some long advances and longer promises on the strength of past 
performances and the hope of future successes, find themselves in trouble 
when the time comes to market the melons contracted, and quite naturally 
tliey frequently throw up tlieir liands as well as their contracts when 
they see a loss staring them in the face. 

It all depends on what the season brings forth if the dealer can get 
!iis money back for the usual advances to the growers, as well as trans- 
]jortation charges and his general operating expenses in connection with 
handling the melons. Of course, if the dealers can not make anything, 
the growers can not. But unfortunately the reverse of tliis does not 
always hold true, for cantaloupe growers have been panhandled along 
with other growers from time to time. However, it must be said most 
of those who have attained fame in the Western melon realm and have 
stuck to the game have had to deal fairly for two reasons : They have 
generally made money and could afford to be honest, and because com- 
petition would not permit anj'thing too rank in the way of figuring pools 
of late years. There are some exceptions to this statement, but it gen- 
erally holds good. The fact that growers in the main have made money 
bears out the correctness of mv statement. 



2i8 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

Cantaloupe growers are unwise to contract with any but a firm of 
known financial ability and with some experience in selling and dis- 
tributing melons. If they do their full duty for a 10^/c connnission it 
makes little difference if they plank down an advance of 50 cents or 75 
cents at loading station or not. But the system of making some advance 
to the growers in the far west where cantaloupes are grown under irri- 
gation seems to have become jDretty well fixed and will likely be continued 
in the future. 

Where rain is liable to occur during the latter stage of a cantaloupe's 
growth the industry is always a doubtful proposition, for a hard rain 
can do untold damage if it comes at the wrong time. Undoubtedly more 
money has been lost to growers and dealers trying to call the turn on 
the weather, as applying to cantaloupes as well as other things, than 
from any other one cause. Those who have had experience either in 
growing or marketing know this to be absolutely true. 

The system of grading and packing long ago adopted in the Rocky 
Ford, Colorado section needs little comment and no criticism if properly 
enforced, as time has proved it to be the best. Separating the melons 
into "standards," or 45 to the crate, or "ponies," with 5i to the crate, 
is about as good an arrangement as could be wished. 

One thing, however, needs to be said about packing, and that is more 
care should be taken to see that melons are not too green, or too ripe 
for picking. Only a person of experience can tell when a melon is 
near enough or too ripe to be gathered and shipped, and it goes without 
saying that only those of some experience or instruction from some 
one who knows should try to perform or superintend the harvesting and 
packing of these melons. Only careful study and many experiments 
with previous shipments will enable a man to know with reasonable 
certainty what the condition of a given crate or car of these melons will 
be when they reach their destination, if picked in California or else- 
where when two-thirds ripe or just ripe, and loaded into a refrigerator 
car for the eastern markets. 

The fact that melons do not always "carry" the same and that trans- 
portation is frequently uncertain and tardy also contribute to the diffi- 
culty that those interested in the business have to contend with. It 
is, therefore, a matter of paying close attention to every development 
and keeping in daily touch with the markets, the weather, the railroads 
or express people, and lastly, the melons themselves in order to have 
even a fair chance of not making a mess of what might otherwise be a 
good deal. Year after year we hear of some dealer in some market, 
or the growers of a certain locality, who have "got in bad" on their 
melon deal because of carelessness in one wav or another. 



MELONS 249 

"If it were not for thus and so we would have a great season" is the 
usual complaint. Fully nine times out of ten this "thus and so" could 
have been avoided in part if not entirely by thorough study and careful 
planning in time to avoid the trouble. Of course, the weather has to 
be taken as it comes, and that one big difficulty, we must admit, can 
upset all the perfection of marketing plans one can devise. But aside 
from the weather we usually see better business and with more profit and 
satisfaction where people stick to the job from the beginning to the end, 
and this means for the grower or shipper to not leave too much for the 
man who has the selling of the melons to look after. He has his hands 
full to attend to the selling end if he does it well, and it can not be 
expected of him to take care of what someone else should attend to. 

It is hardly worth while to say more than a word about the shipping 
end of the business, but it will not be out of place to caution those 
who have to attend to loading and shipping to see that all cars in which 
melons are to be put should be iced and cooled properly before the 
melons are loaded. Of course, all the heat or some of it should be 
allowed to cool out of the melons themselves while under the sheds, or 
in precoolers when available, before the crates are put into the cars. 
It is unfortunate that more precooling has not been done. Again, every 
car should be re-iced in transit as often as needed to insure contents 
reaching destination in good shape. Many cars of melons are damaged 
every year by failure to observe carefully these details. 

In conclusion, it occurs to the author that the subject of melon seeds 
deserves a few suggestions for the general welfare and progress of both 
watermelon and cantaloupe growing. 

No melon seeds of any kind are dependable unless you save them 
yourself or get them from some one who knows what he is selling you. 
It seems that growers will never realize the importance of being careful 
in the selection of the proper strains of melon seeds they buy from 
year to year. 

Those interested should see to it that the junk of every Tom, Dick 
and Harry be let alone, no matter how cheap they are offered, and use 
good horse sense and pay a little more if necessary to procure the kind 
you can be sure will not "come up" wrong. 

It hardly seems worth while to add that after a nice lot of melons 
are ready to market it is a good idea for growers and dealers to make 
sure of saving enough seed from good specimens to supply their next 
season's needs. 

• 



CHAPTER XXXII 



CITRUS FRUITS 



The citrus fruits family, of which the orange is the most important 
commercial variety, had its origin in Indo-China where it is indigenous, 
and today India in her Citra orange is credited with producing some 
of the finest citrus fruit to be found in the world. Risso and Poitcan, 
two of the greatest authorities on citrus fruits, have described some 
eighty varieties of oranges, differing chiefly in external shape, size and 
flavor. Practically all of them may be traced either to the sweet or 
China, and the bitter or Bragrade orange. 

The evolution of the orange from its wild state to the different well 
defined varieties with which we are familiar today possesses some unique 
horticultural features, and the history of the diffusion of the orange is 
interwoven with the romantic expeditions which have resulted in the 
spread of civilization since the time when the first bands of Ayrian 
marauders turned their faces westward and spread over Europe, down to 
the time of the S^Danish explorations which resulted in the discovery and 
settling of the new world. 

No definite date can be fixed when the orange was introduced into 
southern Europe, although it is believed that the sweet orange was prob- 
ably brought into Portugal about 1547, and was soon thereafter carried 
into the Azores, where the St. Michael orange was developed. Some 
writers claim that before this time, probably in the eleventh century, 
the orange plant was introduced into Italy, Sicily and Spain by Medi- 
terranean traders who brought the plant from Arabia and Syria. After 
all, it is pure conjecture as to what date oranges were first grown in 
Europe, and it is of little importance for our purposes when it was 
introduced, although it is well enough to bear in mind the fact that the 
orange came to us over this route. 

Of far more importance to the fruit men today is the fact that oranges 
were brought to America in the sixteenth century by Spanish explorers 

250 



CITRUS FRUITS 251 

who made sporadic attempts to produce this fruit in Florida and Mexico 
where there are scattering groves of trees today bearing mute testimony 
to the fact that the spirit of adventure and the greed for gold are, per- 
haps, a mixed blessing to mankind after all. 

Despite the fact that most authorities agree that the Spaniards are 
resjionsible for the orange in America, some writers contend that a 
species of wild orange is indigenous within a limited area bounded by 
the Gulf of Mexico. Certain it is that wild oranges are found scattered 
all along in our southern states, but the writer knows of no reason which 
would offset the claim that these trees are an outgrowth of the early 
plantings above referred to. 

So far investigations by different writers seem to show that Bernal 
Dias del Castillo planted the first orange trees in Mexico when he ac- 
companied Cortez on his tour of pillage and plunder in the land of the 
Aztecs. But little effort was made at cultivating oranges in Mexico, 
and the first results at cultivation in this country worthy of mention are 
recorded in the early history of Florida and Louisiana, and shortly 
thereafter among the groves in southern California. 

There were numerous plantings of the wild or bitter orange in the 
beginning and considerable quantities of this fruit were grown by the 
Spanish colonists shortly after their settlements were first made. Prac- 
tically the entire state of Florida was well adapted to orange growing, 
and wherever a settlement or trading post was established trees were 
planted ; eventually orchards were cultivated in a systematic way and 
the business has assumed enormous proportions reaching an average 
output of about 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 boxes in recent years. 

With respect to the introduction of oranges into California little is 
known except that the Franciscan monks perhaps started the first groves 
in 1796 when they founded a number of missions in the section of 
country that is now largely included in the state of California. They 
were interested primarily in the conversion of savage Indian tribes to 
Christianity, yet they were not unmindful of their material interests 
and quite naturally they were quick to foresee the commercial value of 
the orange. 

Of the twenty-one missions established practically every one had its 
gardens and orchards which usually consisted of only a few acres. It 
seems that but little effort was made to improve the quality of the fruit 
until the extensive orchards were begun about the San Gabriel mission 
in Los Angeles county. These orchards were supposed to have been 
set in 1804 by one Father Thomas Sanchez. The records of this mis- 
sion for that period do not show the extent of the orchards, but ac- 



252 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

cording to later inventories about 183i when the secularization of the 
missions was undertaken San Gabriel reported 233 fruit trees upon 
which no valuation was placed. 

About this time there was a record made of an orchard being planted 
for home use by Los Vignes at Los Angeles. Other orchards were 
planted shortly thereafter by Manual Requena, and in 1811 Wm. Wolf- 
skill had what was then considered an enormous orchard of two acres 
which is supposed to have been the first commercial orange orchard in 
the state of California. By 1853 quite a number of other groves had 
been started. In 1857 L. VanLuven is credited with beginning some 
orchards from seedlings at old San Bernardino, and also planting about 
forty-five trees in the same year which were obtained from Los Angeles. 
At Crafton a few hundred trees were set in 1865. Riverside, 57 miles 
east of Los Angeles, grew the first extensive orchards from seeds which 
were planted in 1870 and were reset in 1872-73. There is a tradition 
about two old orange trees growing at this time in the El Cajon Valley, 
but there is no authentic data to back iip the claim. 

The beginning in the northern sections is traced to some seed planted 
about Sacramento in 1855 and transplanted in 1859 in Butte county 
where some of the trees are still growing. . From this time on the 
spread is reported to have been general, and by 1862 the state records 
show there were about 25,000 citrus trees in California located mainly 
in the vicinity of Los Angeles. In 1873 when the Southern Pacific 
Railroad was opened for traffic there was quite a boost given to the in- 
dustry because of increased shipping facilities, and later the opening 
of the Santa Fe and other railroad lines resulted in a wonderful spread 
of the industry until today something like 30,000 cars represent the 
enormous annual output from California. 

In this country the Washington navel is of far greater commercial 
importance than any other variety, being grown extensively both in 
California and Florida. This orange was brought to the United States 
by William Saunders of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
who procured ten trees in Bahia, Brazil in 1870 and which were dis- 
tributed in various parts of the United States. Mrs. L. C. Tibbets, 
then of Riverside, California, was fortunate enough to get two of them, 
and the buds from these trees were grafted on to other orange trees. 
These oranges came to be known as the Riverside navel in contradis- 
tinction to a similar variety which previously had been brought from 
Australia, but which had been found to lack some of the desirable quali- 
ties of the more recent importation. The spread of the Washington 
navel was rapid, and it has now won first place among most growers 
and fruit dealers. 



J 



CITRUS FRUITS 253 

In the order of their importance from a fruit standpoint oranges 
rank about as follows: the Washington Navel which is a good keeper 
as well as a very palatable fruit, the Australian Navel, the Mediter- 
ranean Sweet, Maltese Blood, St. Michael, Valencia Late, and the 
Mandarin and Tangerine which were brought from China. All of these 
oranges have their {places in the fruit schedule, notwithstanding some 
of them mav seem of small import until we come to look into the sub- 
ject closely. 

Of the early history of the lemon there is little to be said except that 
the fruit was first brought into Spain by the Arabs the latter part of the 
thirteenth century, and was shortly afterwards grown in the Azores from 
which the first shipments to England were made about 1494i. This fruit 
is not so widely grown as the orange and the commercial supply of the 
whole world is obtained almost wholly from Spain, Portugal, Sicily, 
California and Florida. 

This fruit is more difficult to produce and transport than oranges, 
and the fact that lemon trees are more susceptible to the effect of cold 
weather makes their cultivation except in certain favored localities a 
hazardous imdertaking. The Lisbon variety which is grown in this 
country principally in the Riverside, California district was brought 
from Portugal, while the Genoa lemon which is grown in the Los Angeles 
vicinity came from the groves about Genoa, Italy, and is said to have 
been introduced into this country by Don Jose Rubio of Los Angeles. 
The Bonnie Brae and the Villa Franca are two varieties which are said 
to have originated with H. M. Higgins of San Diego county, California, 
while the Eureka lemon was first grown by C. R. Workman of Los 
Angeles. The Messia is another variety but it is not extensively 
cultivated. 

Lemon culture in the United States has been retarded considerably 
because of the unfavorable tariff schedules which heretofore have favored 
the imported fruits; but with the increased tariff rate on foreign lemons 
it is believed that most of the domestic markets will hereafter be sup- 
plied by American grown lemons and those who have looked the situa- 
tion over realize the fact that parts of California, Texas and Florida 
hold out some favorable prospects so far as producing territory is con- 
cerned. The success of the domestic lemon now seems to depend more 
on reasonable transportation charges than anything else. 

The pomelo, which is more commonly known as grape-fruit, is grown 
most successfully in Florida where it reaches perfection so far as flavor 
is concerned. This fruit originated in the Malay peninsula and was first 
brought to the West Indies by Captain Shaddock during the last cen- 



251. PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

tur}^ It was shortly afterwards taken up by the Florida growers and 
later by Californians where it has been cultivated extensively, but with- 
out very satisfactory^ results owing to the lack of juice and the seeming 
impossibility of getting the proper flavor as in Florida. 

The citron is cultivated to some extent in Florida and California, 
the largest orchard probably in this country being the Westlake at 
Duarte in Los Angeles County. 

Of limes there are some five or six varieties which are cultivated 
principally in Mexico and the West Indies. The island of Montserrat 
in the West Indies, which has an area of only thirty-two square miles, 
is credited with the largest grove in the world. Of late years our 
largest importations of limes have been from Mexico and San Domingo. 

From a commercial standpoint the evolution of citrus fruit growing in 
this country has been phenomenal. A good deal has been said on the 
subject of this important business and time and again public attention 
has been directed to the fact that it is one of the greatest sources of 
revenue to the leading commercial growing sections. Long ago the value 
of the California orange crop became greater than the annual gold out- 
put. Those in position to know the facts will not deny that the Florida 
crop is one of the greatest sources of revenue to the people of that state. 
There seems to be no getting enough of oranges, and this probably will 
always be true if they are of good quality and can be had at favorable 
prices. 

Attention has been called to the importance of raising the standards 
of quality of other fruits while discussing them in foregoing chapters, 
and it may be stated here that the same rule applies to citrus fruits. 
It easily can be seen that in such an enormous industry any change in 
the system of growing, packing and marketing which will cut down 
the percentage of decay, or in other words the loss, means a great sum 
of money in the end to those who are directly concerned. 

If there had been any room for doubt as to the effect proper handling 
of oranges had on the quality when they reached their destinations in 
various markets, those doubts certainly were dissipated by the investiga- 
tions conducted by representatives of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture a few years ago which were under the direction of Mr. Powell, 
a skilled pomologist. 

The Bureau of Plant Industry issued a pamphlet which contained the 
result of these investigations, and the percentage of decay shown in 
fruit which had been harvested carefully and properly brushed and -then 
precooled before shipping, as all oranges should be, showing practically 
no decay in the long run from California to New York. With pre- 



CITRUS FRUITS 255 

cooling now considered a necessary step in the marketing of oranges it 
would seem that the system has become very nearly perfect so far as the 
methods employed are concerned, but as was pointed out by the experts 
in charge of these investigations, nothing can take the place of careful 
handling in getting the fruit ready for shipment, as the percentage of 
decay in every instance was enormously high where the oranges had 
been mechanically injured in preparing them for shipment. 

Generally speaking, groves which have proper attention produce 
the best average fruit, and oranges which are handled least develop the 
least decay from the time they leave the grove until they reach the 
consumer. Any specks on an orange pave the way to its ruin, as these 
minute ^Darticles are veritable hot beds for bacteria. Those accustomed 
to handling fruit know what it means for one or two rotten oranges to 
be in a jaackage and to have several of these bad packages scattered 
through a car. 

The author feels that JMr. Powell has covered the case thoroughly in 
the following language which he takes the liberty to quote from the 
bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture bearing on the subject: 

"There are a few fundamental factors that appear to govern the suc- 
cessful shipment of the orange. The groves should be kept free from 
scale and in good condition, in order to avoid the necessity of washing 
the fruit ; the picking, the hauling and the packing-house operations 
should be of such a character as to preserve the natural immunity of the 
orange rather than to make it susceptible to rot by rough mechanical 
handling. It is equally important to ship the fruit quickly after picking 
and packing at the lowest practical temperature. There has been an 
improvement in the methods of handling the orange in the last few years, 
but the amount of injury that occurs in handling the fruit in many groves 
and packing houses is still excessive. Citrus fruits are probably handled 
better than any other large fruit crop in the United States. No other 
fruit crop is handled with such a degree of skill and economy, but at 
the same time it should be recognized that it is false economy to reduce 
the cost of the various handling operations to a point that makes a proper 
handling of the fruit impossible. To overcome the losses from decay 
in transit is a business matter related to the methods of organizing the 
citrus-fruit business, to the systems of labor hiring, the methods of pick- 
ing and hauling the fruit, the system of packing-house management, and 
the methods and efficiency of transportation. A s^^stem of organization, 
of labor handling or of packing-house management that makes the 
quantity rather than the quality and uniformity of the work the leading 
consideration is detrimental to the shipping quality of the fruit." 



256 PRODUCE MARKETS AND xMARKETIXG 

The author has had some suggestions in mind which he intended to 
include in this chapter relative to marketing citrus fruits^ and discuss 
in detail some possible changes in the methods of handling oranges 
lieretofore in vogue. But inasmuch as most of the men connected with 
the business are experts in that particular fleld^ and since the marketing 
system, by auction or otherwise, has been carried almost to perfection 
it would seem that it is rather dangerous ground to tread upon with 
the expectation of accomplishing anything worthy of the name. Yet 
some remarks on certain ragged edges may not be out of place. 

To the writer's mind it seems that there are entirely too many brands 
of oranges, especially those usually handled through a large association 
or marketing agency. Oranges are simjoly oranges, — either good, bad or 
indifferent. Those who are handling these various brands all the time 
probably have no difficulty in keejoing up with them, but even the average 
fruit dealer scratches his head when you mention some of them. 

For several years the writer has inclined to the opinion that ultimately 
a scheme can be worked out to pack citrus fruits so that the unit will 
not go by the dozen to the consumer or so much apiece, but by arranging 
a certain size package to sell for, say 25c. The writer is aware of the 
fact that several experiments of this kind have been tried without very 
satisfactory results. Still he believes that the scheme can be executed 
and with the aid of proper advertising will reach the consumer to better 
advantage than through methods now in vogue. 

The main point in arranging a smaller imit than the common packing 
box is that the smaller package is more convenient for the average buyer, 
and for the additional reason that it is a strong talking point on which 
to base an argument for the consumer to use a certain kind of fruit. 
Imagine a nicely illustrated ad reading something like this : "Our de- 
licious oranges in dainty baskets packed xcith the utmost care and sold 
under a positive guarantee to please you. You cannot duplicate the food 
value in any other kind of fruit. Price 25c." 

So far only the ice has been broken in advertising to reach the con- 
sumer, but what has been done here and there affords an excellent object 
lesson. The writer does not fear to predict that witliin the next few 
years there will be some scheme developed and carried into execution 
which will astound the progressive old timer who inclines to believe 
that no further improvements can be made in successfully marketing 
citrus fruits. 

During the preparation of this volume the writer has been approached 
on several occasions and urged to include in this chapter certain techni- 
cal matter relating both to the growing and the packing of citrus fruits, 



CITRUS FRUITS 257 

but he regrets that he has not seen his way clear to incorporate such ma- 
terial as would make of this a technical treatise^ whereas his intention 
at the outset was to give only a casual resume of the fruit business from 
a more or less general marketing standpoint and not to include more 
than is essential in the way of scientific or technical matter to help illus- 
trate marketing problems. 

It was thought by one eastern dealer that a careful comparison of 
Florida and California would be a matter of great interest^ but the author 
regrets his lack of time and space to go into a discussion of this kind. 
Besides it is not at all necessary. The two states occupy an entirely 
different field and have their particular advantages and disadvantages. 
Rather than parade their shortcomings the author would prefer to assist 
in working out a remedy for them ; their advantages are sufficiently well 
known and have already been briefly referred to in the foregoing. 

To a casual observer it would seem that the citrus fruit business lit- 
eralty breeds millionaires. After all, mavbe there is some connection 
between the color of the fruit and the color of the metal for which they 
appear to have been able to make a ready exchange, but it could hardly 
be said of the men who have grown wealthy in the citrus fruit business 
that they are possessed of the so-called "tainted money," because they 
have certainly given value received for the fortunes they have accumu- 
lated and it is doubtful if a class of more patriotic broad gauged people 
could be found in any other line of business than those you will meet 
engaged in the growing, shipjiing and selling of citrus fruits. Most of 
them are an honor to the line of business they represent^, which in itself 
is certainly a credit to this country. 

Of course, I speak from the standpoint of the whole and not of the 
individual. We all know the business would stand a show of being a 
paradise if certain men and their methods could be eliminated from the 
game. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



PEACHES 



So much has been said about the culture of the peach and the adapta- 
bility of certain varieties to different localities that it would be useless 
to try to add anything of special interest to that phase of the subject. 

Nor does it seem worth while to add any comments on the best varie- 
ties to select for commercial purposes, althougli we may consider a few 
of the merits and demerits of certain varieties before closing this chapter. 

Undoubtedly there are several good kinds of peaches which have been 
found to be desirable for certain localities and for certain purposes. 
But as before stated the selection of varieties is a matter quite apart 
from our comments on the subject of marketing, and since so much lias 
been written by others about the different varieties of peaches and so 
little has been offered of an intelligent nature about proper and profit- 
able selling, we may well feel satisfied to treat alone on that phase of the 
question. 

To begin with the fruit in the orchard we are at the beginning of the 
main problem of successful marketing. And by this I mean peaclies 
ready for gathering and shipping. 

Unless fruit is picked at the right time and in just the right way 
the task of selling profitably is greatly complicated. Unless good 
judgment is exercised in this essential particular it is merely luck if 
good results in the way of prices are obtained. So it need cause little 
surprise if otherwise perfectly developed and colored fruit is sacrificed 
through carelessness in picking, or by not being packed and shipped 
under proper conditions. 

Therefore, I feel that picking and j^acking are matters concerning 
which a few words will not come amiss at this juncture. 

About the picking of peaches a few general suggestions will suffice. 
When peaches show good color, good size and are well filled out and 
can be broken from the stem witliout much effort, they are ready to pick. 

258 



PEACHES J59 

If allowed to remain on the tree until they will drop at the slightest touch 
they are too ripe to pack for shipment. An orchard must be gone over 
at least three or four times if the work is to be well done. Don't pick 
too green — this mistake is almost as fatal as waiting until too ripe. 
About the last touch nature supplies is the fine flavor. If picked too 
early much of this is lost. The green side of the j^each must begin to 
show the rich tinge of yellow beneath the fuza, but must still be hard 
and solid to the touch. 

The ideal method is to pick every tree daily. This is perhaps not 
practical or possible in a very large orchard. Work as nearly up to the 
ideal as you can ; proper picking is important. Don't allow any rough, 
careless handling, either before or after packing; strive to pack so fruit 
will show up well in crate. The prospective purchaser is quickly at- 
tracted by a neat package of showy fruit, it catches his eye first — 
then his money, while an untidy, sloppy package of same general quality 
of fruit is passed hy as undesirable. Remember when packing your 
peaches that you are competing with thousands of other people in the 
same line. Strive to make your pack so attractive that it will sell first 
when it reaches the market. 

Even with the good demand there is likely to be for peaches every 
season, some fruit is sent to market that will not sell except at very low 
prices by reason of careless handling and general unattractiveness. Fill 
the crates full of good attractive fruit ; half filled or slack filled packages 
won't sell. 

The same general common sense rules as to grading should be re- 
ligiously followed. Extra choice or fancy and choice should be the only 
two grades for sending to market, — anything else should be dried or sold 
to canners, to jelly makers, cider mills or else fed to stock. 

The grades I refer to suggest themselves readily. If an extra choice 
grade is to be put up only the finest and best fruit is to be selected 
and it should run uniform through the entire package so that a brand 
can be built up and those who have used the same fruit before will 
inquire for the same pack again. The importance of this asset is too 
little considered by growers and shippers, for if a pack or brand is 
established and the grade maintained it is easy to get a premium over 
prevailing prices for common fruit that will pay for the extra pains. 

Choice should be choice, and not a layer of good fruit on top and the 
balance made up of half wormy or defective stuff below. The fruit is 
not choice if not sound and reasonably uniform in size and ripeness. 
Do not jjut green peaches in with those half or two thirds ripe and expect 
the commission man will be able to remedy A'our mistake. No use talk- 



260 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

ing about his fooling the buyers to whom he may try to sell for they 
know as much about fruit as he does^ and they both know more about it 
from a selling point of view than the man who grew it. If growers 
could only understand this fact and act accordingly they would save 
themselves and the commission men a lot of worry. On any market 
you will find buyers scurrying up and down the line, and you may be 
sure they look carefully over stock in perhaps a dozen places before 
buying. Now and then a "sucker" comes along, but most of the buyers 
are not of this type and the more intelligent growers know it is not 
profitable to cater to such trade. Nor is it desirable to cater to the 
cheap class of trade. The main thing is to produce a good quality and 
pack in nice style, true to grade, and you will find your returns will bear 
out my statement that it pays. 

Packages for peaches is one of the main features in their successful 
marketing and is indeed a subject that would justify extended comment. 
There are baskets holding a bushel, a half bushel, a peck and a fifth, 
and I am sorry to say a "sixth," which is too often intended to be a 
skimp fifth. 

In the crate we find the six basket carrier and the four basket carrier, 
commonly known to the trade as "sixes" and "fours." About the only 
box used to any extent is the flat shape California box holding two lay- 
ers, containing from 32 to 54 peaches in each layer. This is the favorite 
package in the far west, especially for a long haul to market. 

As to the relative merit of the various kinds of packages we need pay 
little heed as they are perhaps best adapted to their various uses. The 
baskets have much in their favor if properly packed, but in the larger 
sizes, bushels and halves, they must be handled carefully. No matter 
how they are put up they seem to need repacking, facing and filling 
up when they reach their destination. A dressy appearance in a pack- 
age cannot be overestimated. Too often the sale of a car of baskets is 
spoiled for no other reason than the poor appearance of the packages. 
It is found a good plan by some shippers to put some extra baskets into 
the cars when loaded and when the peaches are ready to be put on sale 
the fruit is simply transferred from one basket to another, usually just 
poured out, and when the process is completed it is found several of the 
extra baskets will be required and you have also secured better prices. 

This is not necessary in the case of the smaller baskets for it would 
be too much trouble to take off the tarlatan and little or no advantage 
would be gained anyway by repacking, for they are usually packed tight 
and show practically no shrinkage. I refer, of course, to the fifths and 
sixths. 



PEACHES 261 

The crates share about the same popularity with possibly the "six" 
a slight favorite in most markets. The six basket carrier is distinctly 
a Georgia product and will be used I suppose as long as the famous 
Elberta holds its place in public favor. This elongated crate with three 
baskets below and three above is too well known to require any descrip- 
tion. The fours or "flats" are bully, ^orovided the sides are not slanting 
like tomato crates. It is impossible to get these slanting sides to carry 
well as the fruit in the bottom gets mashed, and once a peach is mashed 
or bruised you know what happens, not only to the aforesaid peach, 
but to others in the same package, and also in other packages. Many 
people are prejudiced against using the four basket carrier of any kind 
because of the unpleasant memories they have of the "slanting" side 
kind with a top about 4 or 5 inches wider than the bottom. But after 
all is said some markets and some dealers hold the "fours" in high 
esteem and declare it to be the best for their purposes. 

The flat box is no doubt best for western peaches. 

When the peach deal is subjected to every test for results it is no 
exception to the general rules laid down in preceding chapters about all 
kinds of produce so far as uncertaintv goes. From a marketing stand- 
point, assuming good fruit and proper packing, it is nearly altogether 
a matter of favorable weather and proper transportation. If peaches 
have had good weather, especially during the ripening period, and are 
fixed up and shipped promptly they should sell well in some market 
which can nearly always be reached on a rate that will pay to use to 
market the fruit. 

And the converse of this holds true. Bad weather over night will 
frequently knock the most flattering prospects in the head in less time 
than it takes to tell about it ; and then poor railroad or boat service, or 
rotten refrigeration as we sometimes see and hear of absolutely pre- 
cludes successful handling. 

But most of the trouble with transportation can be remedied by mak- 
ing preparations far enough in advance, and every grower or associa- 
tion official should see to it that a few weeks before the time for active 
shipping comes around that due notice be given to the proper officials 
"who will then have a better opportunity to supply proper equipment 
and make arrangements to take care of the business that will be neces- 
sary to handle. In cases where an abnormally big crop is in sight plans 
should be laid 6 or 8 weeks ahead. 

I say this will help in a large measure to offset the troubles we fre- 
quently hear so much about. But now and then it happens that no 
agency apparently can prevent losses to shippers because of inadequa^te 



262 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

shipping facilities. Yet as a general thing the railroads should be held 
to account for their failure or negligence to give the service reasonably 
expected of them. Once they find they will be sued and compelled to 
make good losses caused by failure to do their part as required by law 
it usually is easy enough for them to arrange to take care of their 
shipping. 

And why shouldn't the force of the law be used if proper service can 
not be had otherwise? If there is any one brancli of the fruit business 
that is entitled to be called "peaclies and cream" for the transporta- 
tion interests it is the handling of the peach crop every year. Compare 
the peach rates with other kinds of fruits and consider the volume of 
traffic for certain lines, and you can easily figure out the enormous 
revenue they derive from the prosaic peach. What a tidy sum is $100 
to $200 and even more a car on several thousand cars of peaches. It 
makes no difference if the fruit is consigned or sold f. o. b. it remains 
clear that the people in the trade who handle the fruit must foot the 
bills. Therefore, let the people who are spending this money get the 
best service and the proper value in return. 

Some of the railroad people contend that since the price of fruit 
charged consumers includes the item of transportation it should be of 
little importance to the trade whether the rate is 50 cents or $1 a hun- 
dred. That is one way of looking at it. But the more sensible view 
is to use every effort to reduce the cost of peaches and everything 
else to the consumer and induce him to use more of this delicious fruit 
and other kinds too. It is quite a feature in the matter of successful 
marketing to have a line of high priced stuff that will not move as it 
should for no other reason but that it is just a little higher than it 
should be for the public to take hold freely. Nearly always too high a 
transportation charge against peaches is assessed when we figure what 
the public will pay for the fruit and use it so as to keep it going into 
consumption as it should at the right time. 

Some time ago the author was in conversation with a pioneer peach 
grower, a man who has made considerable money out of the business in 
his time, and the writer asked him if there were any hard and fast rules 
or useful suggestions he could give which might be included in this 
chapter. 

"Yes, tell 'em to work hard, pray constantly and spray often," said 
he with no further show of interest. It needs little furtlier comment. 
If growers are to make a success of peach raising they want to do their 
part in the best possible shape. Having produced a good article of fruit 
they can safely turn it over to a reliable dealer in any one of a score 



PEACHES 263 

of markets and sell for a nice price, — one that will yield them a fair 
profit on their investment of time and money in developing their 
orchards. 

In closing I want to say a few words about canning factories as an 
adjunct to marketing peaches. The factory certainly has its place, and 
it should be run profitably, utilizing undergrades especially, but it is a 
mistake to suppose that only inferior stock can be canned with a nice 
profit. There are times when the canning factory ofl'ers better induce- 
ments than any other outlet. When these circumstances arise it is only 
common sense to use the factory. But when everybody begins to load 
up the canners and forget bare markets will re-act it is a good idea 
to sleep with one eye open on the markets which have scant supplies. 
Where there are sufficient supplies growers might well arrange to own 
their canning factories. 

Possibly the least said about peach rot and specking in transit the 
better, for some growers seem not to have learned that peaches which they 
saw loaded and knew to be good when they last saw them really reach 
destination in poor shape. But the peach is one of the most delicate 
kinds of fruit; with too much moisture it goes down quickly, and 
once a car of peaches begins to speck it is generally a case of getting out 
with as small loss as possible, and prospective profits nearly always are 
lost sight of. 

It is a safe bet on an average that the intelligent peach grower who 
aims to put up an honest pack makes some money season in and season 
out on his venture. But that class of undesirable citizens who will top 
tlieir fruit off in any shape so as to make a sale and stick somebody, 
and who are too lazy to take proper care of their orchards, are a draw- 
back to successful growing and marketing and are entitled to little profit 
and less sympathy for their so called hard luck. But they are in a 
minority, I am glad to say, as they are dying off. 

Long may the luscious Elberta, the delicious Crawford, the tasty 
Smock and the hundred and one other good varieties continue to grow 
in popular favor, and may the faithful, if not too rich buyers, who go 
against buying them every season win out at least as many times as they 
have lost money. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 



PINEAPPLES, PEARS, PRUNES AND PECANS 

In the preparation of any volume or treatise of a technical character 
it is often the misfortune of an author that he is confronted with a 
peculiar circumstance in that he has in mind a subject he feels he 
should say something about but frequently lacks a proper opportunity. 
In other words, it is sometimes difficult to follow the usual lines of divi- 
sion or demarcation which would logically determine under what caption 
certain comments or suggestions should come. 

Therefore, he must resort to some other convenience for treating 
matters of this kind when a subject hardly warrants a chapter, and that 
is just what we shall have to do in this instance. Our convenience in 
this chapter will be alliteration. About the only similarity existing in 
the subjects which are included in this division lies in the fact that they 
all are spelled by beginning with the same letter. Naturally, some 
critics will point to this as a weakness, but in treating a subject like the 
produce business which is so largely made up of this, that and the other 
it is hoped that the breach of form may be overlooked to some extent at 
least. At any rate, we shall try to avoid a pot pourri. 

Taking up the articles in the order they are named there are a few 
comments and suggestions I want to make, and which I trust will not 
be considered out of place in this chapter. 

With reference to pineapples there is not a great deal from a mar- 
keting standpoint which can be set down here, but at the same time 
there are one or two features about their marketing which the author 
deems this volume should contain. 

The rapid development of the pineapple industry in Cuba and in 
the Hawaiian Islands has been largely responsible for an entire changr 
in the alignment in the American markets. The Florida crop, always 
of chief importance to our domestic markets, has certainly felt the in- 
roads of the foreign fruit, for many people who had heretofore come 

264 



PINEAPPLES, PEARS, PRUNES AND PECANS 265 

to regard the pineapple strictly from the standpoint of a Florida product 
have been forced to yield to the pressure of this imported fruit and to 
witness changes which they little dreamt a few years ago would ever 
come about. 

What tends to complicate matters more than ever with respect to for- 
eign pineapples is the fact that both Cuba and the Hawaiian Islands 
are wards of the United States, and it would seem that a strange po- 
litical situation has been indirectly responsible for the unexpected and 
uninvited advent of the foreign fruit into our American markets. Those 
interested in the pineapple trade both from a growing and selling stand- 
point have already awakened to the fact that they are confronted by a 
really serious situation, and while there is no prospect of immediate 
danger to the Florida pineapple industry, still we should bear in mind 
that this foreign production is of comparatively recent date. Why 
may we not look forward to further inroads upon the domestic industry 
caused by a rapidly increased production in these foreign countries 
which have fallen somewhat accidentally under the care of our national 
government ? 

The author admits quite readily that from the standpoint of an in- 
creased production prices generally should be lower to the consumer 
which might be expected as a logical result, and which should mean a 
wider and more general distribution of this fruit. But we should re- 
member that it does not necessarily follow we are better off when we 
are distributing more pineapples at lower prices. The question is easily 
a debatable one, and attention is only directed to it with a view to awak- 
ening interest without prejudicing the reader one way or the other. 

From the strictly marketing standpoint of pineapples there is not room 
to say a great deal, for the matter of grading and packing has been 
worked out on what appears to be satisfactory lines to all concerned. 
Aside from the usurious transportation charges on Florida pineapples, 
and the slow, antiquated system of getting the fruit on board vessels 
in Cuba we might reserve our space for better purposes. 

With respect to the rate on Florida pines it does not require a traffic 
expert to see that a grave injustice is being done to the growers and 
shippers from that state, and to a casual observer it will appear that 
some remedy will have to be applied soon. The rate is simply outrageous 
and, in the estimation of expert traffic men, if it is ever properly at- 
tacked it will have to be revised and lowered. 

As regards Cuban pineapples there need be little expressed beyond 
a regret that this country is cursed with the common laziness peculiar 
to the tropics, and what might otherwise be good fruit if properly 



^66 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

handled and promptly shipped, is frequently only of fair quality when 
it is put on sale in our markets after having been hauled from the fields 
by an ox team, driven by a sleepy native, who moves, thinks and lives 
obsessed in a creed whose watchword is may ana. 

Some have expressed the opinion that one day there will be enough 
Americans in Cuba entirely to handle the pineapple business and every- 
thing else as we do things in this country, but others less ojDtimistic 
fear that when enough of our people go over there to accomplish this 
they will catch the fever and be as lazy as the natives themselves. May- 
be so. 

Now in regard to pears, the second item of our subject, there is so 
much to be said which will not likely be of more than passing importance 
except to those actually engaged in the commercial growing or market- 
ing of this fruit, and which would be of a strictly technical character 
that would not properly come within our scope, we shall have to confine 
ourselves to a few general remarks on the subject. 

Pears are produced practically all over the United States, and al- 
though we have ample supplies on an average with a normal crop in the 
present number of orchards, it would be hard to say what would happen 
if the blight had not become so widespread some years ago as to com- 
pletely discourage growers in many sections and cause them to cut out 
their trees. Perhaps this has little to do with our present thought except 
as an indication of what the future jjroduction is likely to be with the 
big increase recently in many districts where pear culture has been found 
profitable, and which has resulted in bringing the growing of this fruit 
into popular favor again. 

Beginning with Georgia in the south and extending all the way north 
along the Atlantic seaboard we find a number of extensive orchards, 
while in the central west and along the Pacific coast there has been 
a tremendous increase the past few years in the number of trees put 
out which is evidenced in the heavy shipments coming on the markets 
every year from the last named territory. 

Undoubtedly the Bartlett is a prime favorite in central and east- 
ern territory, and because of its success in most localities it is perhaps 
entitled to rank as the national favorite. In the far west there are 
several varieties cultivated extensively, with the Anjou probably bearing 
the palm so far as prices are concerned. 

From a marketing standpoint the pear conforms roughly to the same 
conditions under which other fruits are grown, packed and sold. 

Prunes may be considered under two heads, domestic and foreign. 
The Italian prune has been imported to some extent, but of recent 



PINEAPPLES, PEARS, PRUNES AND PECANS 267 

years the heavy iiroduction in this country which is mostly confined to 
the Pacific coast has to a large extent put the foreign prune out of 
business. Pacific coast growers have made wonderful progress the past 
few years in the cultivation of this fruit. The industry has now reached 
the point where enormous sums of money are involved, and from pres- 
ent indications there is every reason to believe that within the near 
future the production of prunes in this country will be more than doubled. 
Thousands of new orchards are coming into bearing in the Pacific Coast 
territory, and those engaged in the fruit business will, no doubt, hear 
a great deal more about the importance of the prune industry in this 
country than we have been accustomed to in the past. 

There are no special comments with reference to the packing, grading 
and shipping of prunes that occur to the writer to be of sufficient im- 
portance to require more than a bit of comment in this connection. What 
has been said in preceding chapters regarding grading and packing of 
other fruits applies with equal emphasis to prunes and, no doubt, some 
improvements over the present system of grading and packing will be 
adopted as the volume of business dictates changes which should be made 
to accommodate a wider distribution and a freer consumption of this 
fruit. 

So far as the quality of prunes is concerned there is no question but 
the American grown fruit equals, in most essential points, that produced 
in Italy, or in any other country for that matter. 

Dried prunes already constitute a considerable item in the fruit traf- 
fic of this country, and the general tendency appears to be to throw as 
much of the fruit into this channel as possible though, as everybody 
knows, there is a tremendous traffic in the green fruit every season. 

One thing, however, which ought to be mentioned in connection with 
the prune industry is the fact that a large proportion of our American 
population is gravitating towards the cities and towns ; of course, 
when people are huddled together under conditions such as most of them 
live in the larger cities it means that the boarding houses and the 
cheaper restaurants will have an opportunity to keep alive the time- 
worn joke regarding "boarding house" prunes. 

There is no question but prunes will always hold their popularity as 
a cheap dessert, and there is every reason to believe that this old board- 
ing house wheeze will be kept alive for years to come. At any rate, 
the energetic growers in the West will spare no pains to see that a suffi- 
cient amount of fruit is supplied if the boarding houses and the restau- 
rant keepers will do their full duty. And it might be added that a 
worse article could be selected as a cheap dessert than i^runes, which 



268 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

are served in such tasty fashion by most of the boarding houses and 
cheaper restaurants at the present time. 

Regarding the pecan industr}^, there are several very interesting 
points which ought to be dwelt upon, but anything like a full treatise 
would require a separate volume, as the industry has become so important 
the 2iast few years that it is almost impossible to do justice to the pecan 
business in a short amount of reading matter such as we shall have to 
confine ourselves to in this connection. 

For the past few years we have seen an enormous traffic in pecans 
from Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and other southern and southwestern 
states. It is estimated that several hundred thousand bushels of pecans 
are marketed every season from the territory referred to, and many new 
groves have been set during the past few years. In view of the fact 
that the pecan tree is of long life and that many of the old orchards 
which were set out forty or fifty years ago are now producing a full 
crop, it has been pointed out by some that there is a probability of over- 
doing the production of pecans sometime in the near future. But the 
writer takes an opposite view of the matter because the pecan is growing 
in popularity, and more and more of these nuts are being used every 
season. 

One thing that has always stood in the way of a free consumption of 
pecans is the fact that this nut is one of the most difficult of all com- 
mercial varieties to get into eatable shape. But since two or three 
very ingenious devices have been perfected for shelling pecans it would 
appear that the main difficulty on this score has been done away with. 
For a very small sum housewives can now procure one of these machines 
and hull more pecans in a few minutes than a whole family could 
formerly shell in a whole evening. 

Then again, the system of polishing these nuts has reached such a 
state of perfection that they can be put in attractive shape so that 
they appeal to consumers much more quickly than formerly. 

In Texas, where the industry is of perhaps greater importance and 
extent than in any other state, more attention has been given to the 
matter of polishing and a very fine grade of commercial nut is pro- 
duced there. However, some very excellent specimens are sent 
out from Georgia and Mississippi, and upon the whole, it would seem 
that every care is being given to the matter of appearance, for growers 
are coming to realize that appearance is one of the main features in the 
successful marketing of pecans as well as all other kinds of nuts and 
produce. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

TRUCK GROWERS AND TRUCK 

Perhaps some special reference should be made to the class of people 
listed among growers who produce different kinds of vegetables or truck, 
and it will not be amiss to have some specific remarks in passing re- 
garding these people, and also to the different commodities which are 
usually listed under truck, which latter word is somewhat like charity, 
for it covers a multitude of produce sins if, indeed, sins can be used 
synonymously with the raft of different kinds of vegetables that run the 
entire gamut in quality, color and market values. 

Primarily, truck growers are understood to be those who cultivate 
small tracts and generally follow an intensive system of producing fruits 
and vegetables for the larger markets. According to the general accep- 
tation of the term, these growers reside near towns or cities, but we have 
come to realize that there is no important connection between the resi- 
dence of the truck grower and his following. 

Practically the same mode of living and methods of operation are fol- 
lowed nowadays by truck growers whether they reside nearer the large 
market centers or happen to be following their calling in newly settled 
territory. And it Is not our purpose in this connection to try to char- 
acterize the truck grower further than we have in the first chapter in 
which we have attempted to define the different components of the great 
produce trade. It is merely with a view to leading up to something 
else that we refer to the truck grower again because it is necessary to 
get a line on him in order to classify intelligently some of the commodi- 
ties which are usually listed as truck, and which will more properly in- 
clude under a common head the references we have to make to the dif- 
ferent kinds of vegetables embraced in that category of articles. 

As a matter of fact, among a large element of people, both in and 
out of the trade, the term "truck" is used to include practically every- 
thing in the fruit and vegetable line which comes on the market in small 

269 



270 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

quantities, and which may or may not be liawked around the streets in 
pushcarts or sold from wagons, or even peddled bj^ the small dealers on 
foot. Were it required to make up any list of these articles we might 
simply prepare a brief list of the common vegetables and let it go at 
that, but since it is not our purpose merely to furnish lists, it is obvious 
that we shall want to look into the matter in a little broader light. 

We shall perhaps oH'er some suggestions regarding the various com- 
modities which may be listed as truck, and which under other conditions 
assume entirely different aspects from the usual acceptation of what the 
truck business implies. 

Such vegetables as celery, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, 
beans, lettuce, radishes, turnips, mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, endive, 
kohlrabi, escarol, shallots, watercress, artichokes, etc., may properly be 
classed as truck, and the term is perhaps suited for ordinary require- 
ments in designating these and other similar articles. At the time all 
of these commodities were made to come under the common head it is 
quite probable that the word "truck" was very well employed to cover 
them, and also to suggest something of the methods under which most 
truck commodities were handled. 

But as we have seen the develojDment of the business, and the many 
new conditions that have arisen which have thrown an entirely different 
aspect over the methods of growing and marketing the various com- 
modities we have just referred to, it is quite evident that many of them 
cease to be truck in any sense of the word, but on the contrary reach 
proportions which almost make a separate business within themselves, 
at least, for some of the commodities mentioned. 

Take celery for instance. Those who are at all familiar with the 
produce business will hardly be disposed to consider that vegetable as 
being truck in any sense of the word because the business, under mod' 
em methods of producing and distributing, has assumed an importance 
in the vegetable realm not only in one section or in one market, but 
practically in half a dozen sections and all of the leading markets in 
the country as being a specialty almost within itself. As a matter of 
fact, there are several large organizations whose chief concern is the 
producing or distributing of celery on a wholesale plan, and it is a 
matter of common knowledge among the trade that there are several 
produce concerns in various markets who enjoy an excellent financial 
rating and whose chief source of revenue in the building up of the sub- 
stantial fortunes they represent has been nothing more or less than the 
specialty they have made of celery. Mind you, we are merely referring 
to celery in this connection to illustrate the possibility of successful 
specializing in some of these erstwhile truck items. 



TRUCK GROWERS AND TRUCK 271 

But while we are on the subject we had as well go into it a little 
further and advance some ideas which may be of interest to those out of 
the trade who may have this volume for reference, and which also may 
be of some benefit to those in the trade. 

In a commercial way, celery is now produced in four or five states 
on a commercial scale which makes it of prime importance. The annual 
output of celery in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Louisiana, 
Colorado and perhaps one or two other states is an item that takes rank 
with the leading vegetables grown. Sales range from 10c to 50c a bunch, 
and $3 to $5 a crate according to supply. 

California, of course, exceeds any of the states referred to both as to 
volume and value of the celery grown. In one or two districts in Cali- 
fornia it is the chief industry for a large proportion of the people who 
are engaged in growing vegetables of any kind, and the annual ship- 
ments from that state under normal conditions will run a thousand cars 
or more. Celery growing has easily become an industry within itself 
in parts of California, and the same might be said of the Kalamazoo 
district in Michigan, while the output of celery from the Sanford, Florida 
section makes celery growing the chief occupation of many people in 
that territory. 

So far as the grading, packing and handling of celery is concerned 
we shall have little to say because it appears that the methods adopted 
for marketing the product grown in different localities are perhaps 
about the best that can be devised for the particular sections involved. 
For certain markets and trade requirements celery should be bunched, 
of course, while for certain other trade the vegetable is taken best in 
the rough and without being washed. Growers generally have made a 
careful study of these requirements and seem to have complied in prac- 
tically all of the essentials necessary to market their output on the most 
favorable terms. 

But on the other hand, improvements can be made, both in the bleach- 
ing and the packing of celery from different localities, and without ques- 
tion further progress will be noted in the handling of celery as well as 
the producing and packing of it. It has been demonstrated over and 
over again that a premium always can be had for stock that is nicely 
bleached and properly put up in attractive packages, and the premium 
is quite enough to induce growers to go to the extra pains of getting 
their shipments in the best possible shape before sending to market. 

Cauliflower is another article which assumes considerable importance 
in the realm of truck or vegetables. This vegetable is produced quite 
extensively in California, and also in Colorado and New York state. 



272 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

principally on Long Island. Of course, we find it grown in practically 
all parts of the country, and more or less of it comes on the market 
early every year from various Southern shipping points. 

Beginning in the spring of the year quite a little cauliflower is shipped 
from Southern sections in barrels or large crates, and sells usually 
around $1 to $2.50 a dozen on the Northern markets. But during this 
same time shipments are usually coming freely from California, and in 
the fall of the year the principal supply is obtained in the East, mostly 
from New York. At certain seasons and from different localities car 
lot shipments are moved freeh^ day after day. During the summer the 
markets are generally flooded with it and it sells at a low price. 

Cucumbers are one of the leading vegetable items not only from the 
standpoint of a general production, but also from the volume of business 
handled every season. Cukes, as they are commonly known, are grown 
in practically every state in the Union, either in the open air or in hot- 
houses. They come practically every market day and in every conceiv- 
able package from the extreme long cukes from the hothouses in boxes 
to those of the short pickle variety in boxes or hampers, and run a great 
range in the matter of price and quality. Hothouse cukes from Boston 
and other Eastern points are usually available after the first or second 
week in January and the same applies to cucumbers produced in hot- 
houses in Illinois, Michigan and other Western territory and also from 
Louisiana, while cucumbers grown in the open air begin coming from 
Southern shipping points in March and April and continue liberally 
until carlots move from Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, with 
prices ranging all the way from 25c to 75c a dozen at the time when 
most of them are shipping in heavy quantities during the spring and 
summer up to as high as $2 to $3 per bushel crate or box during the 
winter when they are scarcest. 

The most extensively cultivated variety of cukes throughout the 
country is the White Spine, but it is not considered generally so good 
for shipping purposes as the Long Green which stands transportation 
better and also holds up for a longer period of time. But for pickling 
the smaller varieties are mostly used. 

Tomatoes are now produced in commercial quantities in probably Jialf 
of the states in Union. Beginning early in the year shipments are 
coming forward from Mexico, California, Florida and latcn* from Louisi- 
ana and Texas. About the middle of January the first car lots are ready 
to move, and the supply gradually increases until in March and April 
when tlie market is usually down to a decline from $2 to $3 per crate 
for the first shipments to as low as 25c to 50c when the heavy movement 



TRUCK GROWERS AND TRUCK 273 

is under way. As the season grows on home grown tomatoes from 
various localities supply practically all the large Northern markets, and 
there is little or no demand except for canning purposes for outside 
shipments. 

A favorite package for tomatoes is the six and the four basket crate 
with the latter kind probably in stronger favor with the trade in most 
markets throughout the country. Generally speaking, the Acme variety 
is the leading favorite for commercial purposes, while there are 
some other tomatoes that are perhaps just as rich or even richer in food 
value than the Acme and are more desirable for home consumption. 

Lettuce is easily one of the most important vegetables grown and 
marketed today. Shipments begin coming from Southern points during 
the fall and winter and continue from some parts of the country prac- 
tically every month in the year. There are occasions when head lettuce 
is scarce, and good stock practically has no limit as to the price it will 
bring, having sold up as high as $12 and $15 per bushel hamper for 
nice quality on several occasions during the past few years. But it 
generally happens that the market is caught bare of any stock, and these 
prices only prevail for a few days at a time. Still it seems that during 
the fall and winter periods there is generally a shortage of nice head 
lettuce; crops which fill in these gaps usually sell at figures which net 
handsome profits for the growers. Beginning in the spring of the year 
barrels sell all the way from $2 to $5 according to quality and market 
supply. Florida, Louisiana and Texas points open the game, and later 
on shipments come from practically every direction until the home grown 
stock supplies the markets. Of course, hothouse lettuce is also to be 
had during the winter, but as this stock is principally of the leafy kind 
there is not much competition with the trade which demands the head 
lettuce. During the fall and early winter quite a lot of fine lettuce is 
shipped from York state which is distributed in all parts of the country 
in a car lot way, or even in large express lots when markets do not 
justify car lot shipments. Some sections on the Pacific coast also ship 
some very nice fall and winter stock. 

The squash is another vegetable which comes properly under the list 
we are considering. Shipments are coming steadily during the spring 
and early summer from Southern shipping points, and practically all 
Northern markets are well supplied with the different varieties. Florida 
points usually begin shipping first, and bushel boxes generally sell all 
the way from $1 to $2 in most leading markets. Good, sound stock, 
either white or yellow, usually nets good prices, and while sliipments 
are wanted mostly in a small way, still practically all stuff coming that 
is of desirable quality meets with ready sale at some price. 



274 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

String beans occupy an important place in the list of vegetables, 
and are usually in demand every month in the year in most markets. 
Shipments begin coming from Florida, Louisiana and Texas points earlj' 
in the year, and are followed with liberal supplies from different states 
as the season progresses. Florida and Texas shipments are frequently 
found in the Northern markets around the holidays, while New Orleans 
beans are looked for usually around the first of January, and not later 
than the first or second week in January. Sales depend entirely on 
quality and supply, usually running from $1.50 to $2.50 per bushel box. 

Radishes, when nice, sound and of desirable size, usually meet ready 
sale throughout the entire season. Southern shipments, of course, begin 
early in the year and supplies increase as the season grows on. Texas 
and Louisiana barrels sell according to quality from $2 to $5 per barrel, 
while the hothouse varieties range anywhere from 15 to 50c per dozen 
bunches. 

Turnips, very largely consumed nowadays, are grown all over the 
country, and the round or long variety can be had from all shipping 
districts at some time during the j^ear. They usually sell for about 
carrying charges in most markets during the heavy season of the spring 
and summer. The yellow variety grows principally in Canada and 
Michigan, while some parts of Wisconsin are now producing more or 
less of this stock. These turnips, more generally known as rutabagas, 
are marketed during the winter, and are of large size. They usually 
go in car lots from the sections mentioned to all parts of the country. 
From observing the system employed in handling these rutabagas I think 
their consumption could be greatly increased by adopting better methods 
of selling. More of them should go direct to smaller markets. 

There are several other minor vegetables which are grown in almost 
every section and are available in season, such as spinach, endive, 
kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, watercress, shallots, artichokes, escarol, 
parsley, beets, gumbo, green peas, peppers, kale, rhubarb, carrots, sweet 
corn, etc., etc. which are to be had in greater or less quantities as market 
conditions justify. 

However, there are occasions when some of these commodities cannot 
be bought in the markets for various reasons such as climatic changes 
and unfavorable weather. It is the case on such occasions that extreme 
prices prevail for a limited time, generally until supplies can be had from 
other sections, for be it known that tlie output of vegetables season in 
and season out outruns the actual demand, and when extreme prices 
are being realized in most markets it can be set down as a safe proposi- 
tion that tlie territory wliich usually supplies the market in question 



TRUCK GROWERS AND TRUCK 275 

has suffered some extreme weather condition which has cut off the pro- 
duction, or temporarily held back the crop which should supply the mar- 
ket where extreme prices are prevailing. It is mostly a matter of 
proper shipping facilities and favorable rates that determines most of 
the vegetable supply for any market nowadays. 

The fortunes of the truck grower are variable; his life is usually a 
picturesque one. From a small plat of a quarter or a half acre he is 
likely to make a great cleanup once in five years or even oftener, but 
what is more likely to happen is that he will run along making a fair 
competence from his two or three acres of highly fertilized and well 
tilled ground vv'hich is usually looked after by himself personally, and 
with the assistance of his family frequently at certain stages of the game 
when he is busiest with harvesting and marketing. 

One thing that the truck grower has to be thankful for is the spread 
of the new doctrine over the country relative to a vegetable diet being 
the most desirable for the average American citizen. This new cult 
has been responsible for an enormous increase in the consumptive re- 
quirements of different kinds of vegetables during the past few years. 

Thousands and thousands of packages of different kinds of truck, 
which perhaps would not otherwise have been so much in demand, have 
been taken annually by most of the leading markets of late years in 
excess of previous requirements, and no doubt the big increase in the 
eating of vegetables has been due largely to the preaching of this new 
vegetable cult which aims to influence people to forego the eating of meat 
and substitute on the daily bill of fare more fruits and vegetables. If 
a plan could be arranged for the truck growers to contribute to the 
raising of a fund to build a monument to the man who started this new 
creed they might well get together a substantial sum to show their 
appreciation for the benefit they have received indirectly through this 
doctrine that has aimed to jjut the American public on a vegetable 
diet. 

The writer has recently been asked if it was not his ojjinion that the 
production of vegetables of different kinds is likely to outrun the actual 
consumptive requirements. In answer here he would say that in all 
probability some commodities are being grown in excess of the actual 
demands while it can hardly be denied that on an average most of the 
best vegetables produced are consumed by the public at some price. 
Frequently concessions have to be made in ruling prices in order to 
move certain kinds of vegetables which have accumulated and have to 
be sold because of the fact they would become worthless if not disposed 
of immediately. • 



276 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

There is no way of telling, it seems what commodities will sell at 
good prices a year ahead or even a few months before the time actually 
comes for disposing of them, but by a careful study of market conditions 
and with an experienced produce man in some of the leading markets 
advising with growers, it generally is the case that some intelligent 
opinion can be formed as to what the prospects are for a given truck 
commodity from one season to another. 

Naturally, when growers find that one commodity is being produced 
in too large quantities the logical thing to do is to switch to some other 
commodity or else cut down their acreage so as not to throw too much 
of the given article on the market. This is a matter which can be very 
well taken up by individual growers in one locality with growers in an- 
other section, or even through their associations with other associations 
of vegetable growers. It will be found generally that dealers and com- 
mission men will co-operate heartily in matters of this kind. The better 
element in the produce trade aims to co-operate with growers in de- 
ciding upon what crops are best to grow. Sometimes they have wrong 
ideas, but usually it is best to counsel with your commission man before 
planting extensively. 

The truck grower and his truck are of such varied nature and great 
importance that he might rightly be treated more fully instead of in a 
limited chapter as we must do in this instance. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



PRODUCE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 

Should the author undertake to go into a thorougli discussion of the 
matter of produce exjoorts and imports it is not at all improbable that 
he would consume a great deal more of the average reader's time than 
is at all desirable for our jjurposes in this connection. 

Besides, we should be forced to a consideration of the tariff, and a 
discussion of a matter of that sort is thoroughly out of line with our 
aims in this volume. It suffices to say, however, that the tariff now 
in effect and all previous schedules have exerted a tremendous influence 
on the amount of business we have handled, especially of an import 
nature, while the contrary holds true with regard to schedules in effect 
in other countries in so far as our exports are concerned. 

Practically every man connected with exporting or importing dif- 
ferent articles of produce or other food products will bear out the author 
in saying that tariff schedules are no less an important factor in handling 
business than the actual prevailing market conditions themselves in the 
different countries from which food products are imported or to which 
export shipments may be sent. Before leaving the subject of the tariff", 
however, it is only fair to say that no ideal schedule has ever 3^et been 
worked out, and in all probability never will be, which will satisfy even 
approximately those concerned in the producing or distributing de- 
partments, if we may be permitted to refer to the different interests 
in this way. 

The tariff that is considered best for the producer is frequently 
objected to by the distributor, while practically all schedules are objected 
to by the consumer. Perhaps there was never a greater truism uttered 
than the statement made by some Solomon of the political game years ago 
that the tariff", after all is said and done, is purch^ a local issue. 

Our discussion of this matter of ))roduce exports and imports must 
necessarily be of a brief nature, for the space allotted to this subject 

277 



278 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

will not permit more than a cursory glance at some of the more salient 
features connected with what we send out of this country and what Ave 
bring in from other countries. There are some points which strike the 
writer as being of more importance than a discussion of market values 
or prices, and it should be understood that what we take up for con- 
sideration will be more in the nature of the general than the specific. 
In other words, we are not concerned so much with prices as with the 
principles which underlie them. 

The export end of our business is limited mainly because of the ex- 
cellent domestic markets to be found in one section or another of our 
own country for practically everything we grow and have to put on the 
market from any given locality. It might almost be said that our 
export business is merely intended to take care of what little surplus 
we may have from time to time. When we come to think of the matter 
carefully, we soon find that about all that amounts to a hill of beans in 
our export trade is the apple business and what exports we handle in 
dairy products. 

Of course, we are treating the matter purely from the standpoint of 
the fruit and produce business, and the total valuation of the apples 
and dairy products from this country for a given season amounts to 
only a few million dollars. In other words, for every dollar we get 
from foreign countries for the food products we send them, we cough 
up several hundred — maybe several thousand — dollars in buying little 
dukes and earls and other things for the daughters of our idle rich to 
play with, and apparently to furnish themes for sensational stories in 
the Sunday papers and magazines a few years after we have imported 
the aforesaid little dukes and earls. 

As regards apple exports it may be safely stated that the figures 
run anywhere from one to four million barrels and from a half million 
to two million boxes, reckoning on the government's schedule, and the 
principal part of both barrels and boxes is taken by the United King- 
dom going mainly to Liverpool, London and Glasgow. 

It is purely a question of crop conditions in this country and prevail- 
ing market prices abroad as to what movement of apples we have in 
any given year. In this country we have witnessed a continued increase 
in the production, and several years ago it was generally believed that 
a much heavier export business would result as tlie increase in produc- 
tion developed in this countrv, but it seems that our best markets have 
been where they were at that time, that is, in our own country. There 
have been times, to be sure, when there were more apples than our 
domestic trade required and on such occasions it was only logical that 



PRODUCE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 279 

fruit .should be exported, especially when we could jret better ])ricts 
abroad. But as before stated, we are coming to find that this export 
business is of less and less importance as compared with the enormous 
domestic trade which we have developed and which is still constantly 
increasing in our own country. 

Now what applies to the export business in apples may be said 
roughly to correspond with the conditions in the dairy products trade 
also. We send abroad quite a little butter and cheese every year, yet 
we must not overlook the fact that where we send products of this 
nature abroad we are constantly using a greatly increased amount in 
our own country. A brief survey of the government figures on the 
subject for the past ten or twenty years will quickly convince the im- 
partial investigator that, taken as a whole, the export business is a 
mere bagatelle compared with the enormous volume of trade in our do- 
mestic markets. Even the banner 3'ear of 1906 with nearly 25,000,000 
pounds of butter shipped abroad, valued at about four and a half million 
dollars, and around 20,000,000 pounds of cheese valued at about two 
and a half million dollars, is really a small factor in the dairy products 
business when we stop to think of the tremendous traffic in these 
products in our own country. 

The fact of the matter is, for the past few years we have had little 
or no surplus to speak of in dairy products and it has been a case of 
utilizing every source of joroduction to the utmost in order to secure 
enough supplies to take care of our own consumptive wants. At prices 
lately prevailing for butter fat there has certainly been a slim chance 
for anything like a profitable business on a basis of prices prevailing 
in foreign markets. What the conditions of the future will be as 
regards dairy products no man is wise enough to predict with anything 
like reasonable accuracy, but it is the honest conviction of the writer 
that from the present "lay of the land" there is little hope of doing 
much more business in exporting dairy products within the near future 
at least, than we have had in the past. The foreign countries are simjily 
not in position to stand the price our exporters would have to realize 
to bring up the volume of business to anything like respectable propor- 
tions. And it should be stated too that the great bulk of the export 
shipments are of undergrades which sell for less money than the average 
run of quality insisted upon by the consuming public in this country. 

Now considering the matter of dairy products from an export stand- 
point, including dressed poultry, of course, it would be unfair to say 
that there has not been quite a profitable business transacted upon the 
whole by a number of operators who handle dressed poultry which is 



280 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

sent abroad, more or less freely every year. Several million ^jounds of 
this poultry find favor annually in European markets and especially 
in the United Kingdom. Whatever opinions they may entertain of our 
sj^stem of handling jDacking house products abroad, it cannot be safely 
said that they fail to appreciate the toothsome fowls which are sent 
over so nicely packed, and at such reasonable prices compared with 
what they pay for the home grown kinds. Preparing this poultry 
for export might be said to be an industry within itself in the central 
West where a number of enterprising concerns have built up quite a 
large business in packing this kind of poultry, and where a well de- 
veloped system has been evolved for handling the business. Yet this 
branch of the poultry trade is small indeed when we compare it with 
the domestic. 

There is one thing connected with the exjjort trade from this coun- 
try that the writer considers of such imj^ortance as to be worthy of 
more than casual reference, and that is the matter of increase in business 
transacted of late years with Alaska. We are so accustomed to think 
of European countries when we speak of the export trade that we lose 
sight of the importance of the business done with our great big territory 
in the far Northwest which is far enough away to make it seem a foreign 
country. 

Men familiar with the export business have been credited with the 
statement that Alaska is of more importance to us from the standpoint 
of an export market for food products than all the European markets 
combined. The fact that Alaska is a nonproducing country and yet 
has the money to pay for food products furnishes a clue for this condi- 
tion of affairs. WMien it comes to the matter of comparing profits on 
products sent to Alaska with products taken by European markets we 
get another forceful illustration of the fact that the best market is the 
one that pays the best prices. 

And what applies to Alaska may be said to apply also in a greater 
or less degree to the new Canal Zone, the Philippine Islands and also 
the Hawaiian Islands ; and these new outlets are only good to the extent 
. that they harbor American citizens, for be it understood that the Amcr- 
' ican citizen, wherever he may be, whether it be along Broadway, in a 
i Western mining camp or at the North pole usually insists on getting 
' something that suits him and he manages somehow to find the price 
to pay for it. Unfortunately this cannot be said of many of the buy- 
ers in European countries; sad to relate, the majority of jieople who 
, would like to trade with us abroad are unable to pay prices that would 
justify us in sending our products abroad to them. 



PRODUCE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 281 

While we are discussing the matter of nearby export markets we must 
not lose sight of Canada. Now as a matter of fact, any good Canadian 
will spend hours in trying to convince you that they can grow anything 
across the border that we can on this side, and furthermore, they can 
produce just a little bit better quality than we have. Yet at the same 
time, the figures show that many of the Canadian markets use a respect- 
able proportion of our products and while it may be a fact, as some 
prejudiced individuals seem to believe, that the Canadian trade takes 
only what they have to from the United States, we must not forget 
that the sum total of this trade cuts an important figure in our 
annual reckonings of the fruit and produce business, and the sum 
total exceeds greatly the goods we buy from Canada. It is especially 
important to the big jobbing houses located in states along the border 
in certain favored localities. The business has reached such importance 
that several concerns have established branches on the Canadian side ; 
and now that reciprocity is so nearly accomplished we may look for a 
much larger trade in the future. 

This applies especially to the Northwest, and here again we have 
an illustration of the point we called attention to in speaking of Alaska 
and other parts of the country that have been settled up largely by 
our Yankees. There has been such a tremendous influx of farmers and 
business men from the United States into the British Northwest that 
the section in question is even more typical of the United States than 
of Canada itself. Big profits in growing wheat and live stock have 
furnished a basis for high prices for different kinds of fruits and produce 
which the Yankee palate craves and which is usually satisfied if the 
pocketbook will justify. 

Considering imports of fruits and produce we have hardly more than 
four or five commodities that amount to enough to speak of. Bananas 
from Central America and Jamaica, lemons from Italy and onions from 
the Bermuda Islands constitute the principal items. Of course, we get 
a few fruits from far-away South Africa, plenty of cocoanuts from 
South America, some nuts from Italy, dates from Syria and Turkey 
with a sprinkling of fancy vegetables from Belgium and nuts from 
Spain and Italy, not to say anything about those very excellent grapes 
and onions which come from Spain, with now and then a few potatoes 
from Germany and England and cabbage from Holland and Den- 
mark on rare occasions. 

If the writer were asked to sum up In a few words what constitutes 
the limit on imports of this character he would say that this limit is 
determined purely as to the amount of a given product that they dare 



282 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

send over to us. That is, on a basis of supply and demand in this coun- 
try, which is more or less regulated by the home production, assuming, 
of course, that there is some product produced in this country which 
competes in a measure with the product from abroad. 

Yet in all fairness we should say that we have not yet produced a 
lemon that can compete, everything considered, with the Italian lemon. 
The several million boxes which are brought into this country every 
year are no doubt following the natural trend of the market, for were 
it possible to supply the trade with our own production it is hardly 
necessary to state that the industry would reach proportions in this 
country which would preclude the movement of such a heavy traffic 
from abroad. The same may also be said to apply to Bermuda onions, 
while Spanish onions and grapes have the best kind of excuses for 
finding their way into this country to the extent they do and bringing 
the prices usually prevailing during their limited season. 

But the biggest item in the matter of imports is bananas. A fair 
size volume and quite a good story, indeed, could be written on the 
subject of banana importation. The author wonders why somebody 
has not undertaken the job. True, excerpts are found here and there 
and some writers of stories have unraveled an edge, while another 
has touched upon another edge, but nobody has gone to the trouble of 
developing the theme as it should be handled and making a good story 
from the mass of material available. 

It is an enormous business, this banana trade; it involves millions of 
money; it has had a rapid development in the last quarter of a century. 
According to some reports which bear the earmarks of authenticity it 
has had its share in the making and the unmaking of some of those 
blackguard comedians who have assumed to start revolutions and over- 
throw the existing order of things in Central America. Little do we 
dream when we see a bunch of bananas lianging in front of a retail 
grocery store, or lying complacently in the pushcart of the picturesque 
Italian street vender, that within its folds may lie a slumbering tarantula, 
and at the same time the part and parcel of a theme which, if properly 
dramatized, would thrill the American public from the humblest to 
the highest. 

The story connected with the banana deal has all of the essential 
elements of a good drama: Love, intrigue, war, wealth and poverty, all 
of these and perhaps there are some more which could be analyzed in this 
great game. There are said to be romances interwoven with the financial 
affairs of the banana trust that are worthy of a good playwright's 
handling. 



PRODUCE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 283 

Twenty-five years ago we were hardly using five million bunches of 
bananas ; nowadays we are consuming more than ten times this amount. 
It is also reported on good authority that the consumption in Great 
Britain has more than trebled during the past five years. Quite a big 
business is also handled with markets in Germany, France and other 
European countries. 

While we are mainly interested in considering the banana from the 
standpoint of an import, at the same time it is both an import and 
export business as we look at it, for the business is practically dominated 
all over the civilized world by one immense Yankee corporation that 
practically holds the business in the palm of its hand, operating steam- 
ship lines, vast plantations in Costa Rica and in other growing sections, 
and having practically all of the best trade in the world sewed up so 
far as supplies are concerned. It is estimated that four-fifths of the 
bananas brought into this country are directly or indirectly controlled 
by this immense enterprise. As a matter of fact, the business has been 
developed from little or nothing to the present enormous proportions by 
the enterprising heads of this big corporation. They taught the public 
to eat bananas. They promulgated the doctrine that the banana com- 
bines the essential food products in such a way as to make them most 
easily assimiliated even by the dyspeptic, and by discovering new 
methods of transportaton, developing new markets and nursing the busi- 
ness carefully we now see a leviathan in the fruit realm which has sprung 
from what some people were so silly as to call a "pushcart" proposition 
years ago when the business of importing bananas was in its infancy. 
But when the dare devil methods of developing the industry are finally 
given to the world we shall all stand aghast at the means used in bringing 
about conditions as we now find them. 

Some definite idea can be had of the very satisfactory profits resulting 
to the trust for its trouble when we consider the figures which are con- 
tained in the annual statements of this big concern. 

Prices in Central America run from 31c per bunch for sizes of nine 
hands or over and 25c for eights. The company gets an average of 
$1.70 a bunch, averaging from 150 to 175 bananas, in this country. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 



THE COST OF LIVING 



During the past few years the increased cost of living in this country 
has caused a great deal of thinking among our people, and because of 
the fact that considerably more than one half of the money received 
by the average wage earner is spent for eatables, it may not be out of 
place to have some comment on this subject. At any rate, I have 
some things in mind which I am persuaded to believe will be worth 
the perusal of those not connected with the produce business who may 
read this book, and at the same time I believe that those people in the 
trade who may not have given any thought to the subject will do well to 
consider carefully some of the things to which I am calling attention. 

Whenever we begin making comparisons on the subject of the high cost 
of living it may not be a bad plan to stop and think of the cost of 
high living in this country, for the American people in my judgment are 
the greatest spendthrifts on God's footstool. I am firmly convinced of 
the fact that most of our people have a sort of mania for blowing in 
money on some sort of proposition, and it generally happens that if the 
money is not spent for one thing it is spent for something else. We 
must have the finest of everything. Your American gentleman and 
American lady, and mind you they are all ladies in this country, must 
have the best of everything obtainable. 

Fine dresses and clothing of all kinds, fine automobiles, fine diamonds, 
fine wines, fine cigars, in short, fine everything except in the realm of 
mental operations, may not have so much to do with the high cost of 
eatables, but it occurs to me that there is a close connection between 
the increased cost for food supplies of all kinds and the other forms of 
extravagance which we see on nearly every hand. 

While food products have gone up in value, let's not lose sight of the 
fact that everything else has advanced also. The world's gold supply 
has increased wonderfully during the last decade. Whether this is 

284 



THE COST OF LIVING 285 

right or proper I shall not attempt to say. I merely call attention to 
the conditions as they exist without attempting to justify them at all. 
But the fact cannot be gainsaid that the American people as a whole 
demand the best of everything and, generally speaking, if they have got 
the money to buy they insist on having the best. This can only lead 
to one result: Paying the extra price for the extra quality. And if 
they have the money and the disposition to spend it you can rest assured 
they will get what they want. 

There has been considerable silly talk here and there, sometimes in 
state legislatures, sometimes even in the halls of Congress, with refer- 
ence to a cold storage trust, or some kind of trust in the produce business 
which has forced eatables higher. To those who have even a passing 
acquaintance with practical produce affairs, this kind of stuff is scarcely 
a low grade of comedy. As a matter of fact, there never has been and 
in all probability never will be such a thing as a produce trust. Con- 
ditions are so changeable and fortunes are so variable in this game, as 
we have pointed out in preceding chapters, it would seem practically 
beyond the pale of human possibility to effect anything like a trust, or 
even anything like an effective working agreement, which would last 
for any length of time, and which could result ultimately in changing 
prices either one way or the other. This I think we have made pretty 
clear in treating several subjects in preceding chapters, and I only 
refer to it here because some who may read this chapter may not have 
had the patience or felt sufficient interest in the book to have gone over 
the entire subject matter up to this point. 

People in and out of the produce trade have pointed out that the 
system of handling business generally adopted by retail grocers through- 
out the country is in a large measure responsible for the big increases 
which are found to exist today for all kinds of eatables compared with 
several years ago. And I incline to believe that there is a great deal 
of reason in some of these statements, for I have done some investigating 
along these lines myself. I think no one who has looked into the sub- 
ject will deny that in many cases retail grocers and others selling at 
retail do extort prices from consumers which are little short of down- 
right robbery when compared with profits others get who have probably 
done more work and had considerably more money invested in the com- 
modity in question, considering the proportionate profit they could hope 
to get out of a given commodity. 

These retailers' profits frequently run anywhere from 25 per cent 
to 300 per cent or more. But when we approach the retailers on the 
subject we invariably get from them a very pitiable story detailing 



286 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

the experiences they Ixave and relating the small profits made on their 
business as a whole. They will tell you that they are carrying numbers 
of the different advertised articles such as breakfast foods, canned goods, 
etc., on a scandalously low margin because the manufacturers tell them 
they have spent fabulous sums of money in advertising these articles and 
creating a demand among consumers. The manufacturer probably fig- 
ures that the retailer must handle these lines on a basis of something 
like one quarter per cent commission or profit, and since there has been 
a public demand created for the commodity the retailer is almost forced 
to carry it in stock. 

When we stop to figure that these advertised articles constitute a 
considerable jiortion of the average grocer's stock we easily see that this 
very factor of advertising must have a vital bearing on the profits 
that the retailer has to figure on getting out of the articles which are 
not advertised, for he must get a certain profit out of the business he 
handles in order to pay his expenses and have anything left for himself. 

It is not my purpose in this connection to object to advertising any 
article intended to be put into general consumption, but at the same 
time we must look the matter squarely in the face, and it is my honest 
belief that there is a whole lot in the claim that fruits and produce of 
all kinds, which are handled in bulk, and which are not susceptible to 
being advertised, are made to carry the cost of operating to a large 
extent that ought to be borne by the different advertised articles which 
are sold by the retailers on a very small margin of profit. And if you 
are disposed to doubt this proposition I would respectfully suggest that 
you do some investigating on your account and some impartial figuring 
before you give out an interview, if you are interested in some of the 
advertised brands, attempting to show that I am a crazy agitator. 

Another thing that I want to point out is the system adopted in nearly 
all of our large cities for the delivery of groceries from the corner 
store to the consumer whether he lives in a house or in an apartment 
building. In the average home the woman for "convenience" usually 
resorts tq the telephone to do her buying, and of course the packages 
ordered have to be delivered. This delivery service in itself is no small 
item in increasing the cost of the different articles. In an interesting 
series of articles published in one of the magazines a year or two ago 
it was pointed out and some very sensible reasons were set forth, as 
well as tables of authentic figures, showing that the actual cost of cut- 
ting up and delivering a pound of steak from a butcher shop or retail 
grocery in a residence district of one of the large cities to some cus- 
tomer three or four blocks away, costs considerablv more than the 



THE COST OF LIVING 287 

money necessary to handle the same meat from the ranch where the 
beef was put into condition for marketing, and to carry it all the way 
through the different ramifications of being shipped and prepared for 
delivery to the aforesaid butcher shop or retail grocery store. This is 
probably true with respect to many eatables in the way of fruits and 
produce. There are some funny things when we come to figure out 
the different factors that enter into the cost of handling any kind of 
food products. The actual deterioration and loss in a retailer's stock is 
quite an item. 

Personally, I am not disposed to make faces so much at the retail 
grocer or at anj^ other retailers. I think as a general proposition they are 
not making more money than they are entitled to, considering the work 
they do, the capital invested in their business, and the risk they must take 
in carrying their customers. We rarely hear of these retailers taking up any 
bond issues which are open to the public, nor as a general proposition 
do we see them buying more automobiles than anyone else; among all 
of them I have known I must say that a small percentage of them 
seem to wear more diamonds or fine clothes than any of the balance of 
our people. 

Of course, the average retailer is in business simply to make money. 
There is no use quibbling on that point, or asking any questions as to 
why a certain grocer got a lease on a certain corner. He is merely 
human ; he is trying to get all of the profit in sight. I think he is 
wrong, I am speaking generally of the average grocer, in trying to hold 
up prices as long as lie often does after prices for certain commodities 
have declined. But if we put ourselves in the place of the retailer we 
would probably look at the matter just as he does. 

Generally speaking, the retail buyer looks to the wholesaler or to the 
jobber Avho supplies him with what he buys to keep him informed as 
to market conditions. But the wholesaler or jobber takes the same ad- 
vantage of him nearly always that the retailer does of the consumer. 
In other words, the man who is selling the retailer wants to get all he 
can from him, and if the wholesaler thinks that apples will be lower in 
the course of a few days you can rest assured that the retailer will be 
about the last man the wholesaler will inform of the opinion he has. 
To put it another way, he would not object to loading up the retailer 
with a lot of apples if the retailer has the money to buy and is suscep- 
tible. And when the market breaks it is not hard for us to see what 
the retailer will do, or at least will try to do. He is going to try to 
get his money out of those apples and a profit too if he can. And wliat 
is true of apples, mind you, applies all along the line to the hundred 



288 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

and one dilferent articles which the retailer must buy from day to 
day, or at least from week to week. The rule of trade is caveat emptor 
whether among wholesalers or retailers. 

It occurs to me that if some scheme could be devised to keep con- 
sumers informed as to the actual conditions existing in the market for 
different kinds of foodstuffs, and even likely to exist in the future, it 
would be the means of helping people generally to meet conditions 
with less embarrassment than sometimes happens. I think it would be 
possible for the daily papers and the magazines to secure this information 
and have it prepared in such form as would be intelligible and interest- 
ing to the average reader who might be concerned in having the facts 
correctly put before him. It is easy to see that if the average housewife 
had advance information that potatoes, for example, would likely rule 
higher than the average price by reason of a shortage in the supply she 
could better trim her sails to meet the situation than she could without 
knowing of the probable advance that would take place two or three 
months or even further ahead. 

What I have in mind is something analogous to the service rendered 
by the United States government in the weather maps provided and the 
warnings sent out from time to time with reference to changes in the 
weather. These warnings do not make the rain come down to be sure, 
but if it is going to rain we are put on notice of that fact and can' 
provide a raincoat or an umbrella before the showers or storms come 
and the damage has been done by our being caught unawares. 

I think our people as a whole should give more careful study to this 
matter of probable cost of living several months ahead. If some com- 
modity is likely to sell higher or lower it does no harm to let the public 
know about it. By this I mean to say that it is just as well that the 
information be given to the public with reference to the probable supply, 
and let the public draw their own conclusions with reference to the 
probable trend in market values. Surely anyone who would undertake 
to forecast markets several months ahead would probably do more harm 
than good if he ever got to the point that he would enjoy the confidence 
of the public to the extent that people would believe what he had to say 
on the subject. 

Give the people as nearly correct information as is available with 
reference to the probable supplies to be had of a given commodity dur- 
ing a given season, and let them reason out things. It could do no 
serious liarm, I am sure. This matter of providing supplies for the 
household is reallj' a serious proposition for a majority of our people. I 
mean those of moderate means, — the big majority. As the matter 



THE COST OF LIVING 289 

stands now, the average consumer takes his chances from day to day, 
buying piece-meal, when in many cases he could probably offset a change 
in the market one way or the other if he had sufficient information upon 
which to base a conclusion as to what the market might do the day 
after, the week after or the month after. 

In place of asking the question over and over again why the cost of 
living has gone up, I would prefer to ask the question why does not the 
cost of living go down? Yet, as a general proposition, I don't believe 
that such articles as« are embraced in the fruit and produce line are 
much higher proportionately than any other article generally used by the 
public, if we consider them all relatively on something like a ten year 
average. After all is said and done our people as a whole are largely 
to blame for the alleged high cost of living. 

The few retailers here and there who may be guilty of charging ex- 
orbitant prices would no doubt find it a difficult matter to get in their 
slick work if most of their women customers had as much interest in 
going shopping to buy the household supplies as they do in following 
the bargain sales where trinkets such as phony jewelry, complexion pow- 
ders, and rats to go in their hair, can all be found at marked-down 
prices, which are perhaps twice as much as they are really worth on 
the open market. 

Personally, I regret to see the passing of the time when it was cus- 
tomary to go marketing, and I really think there were advantages con- 
nected with that system which can hardly be had under any other. It 
certainly made everyone take an interest in the home which is lacking 
under the present system. In some of our older cities it was quite 
customary in years gone by to see some of our leading citizens visit the 
large retail markets with their baskets, and spend an hour perhaps 
in selecting supplies for the Sunday dinner. Having made their selec- 
tions, the packages were delivered, or were even taken back in their 
carriages to their homes. To me it seems that this gave a sort of personal 
touch which is lost in the present mechanical system of using the tele- 
phone and getting a lot of second-hand canned goods and a nondescript 
aggregation products that no one but a grocery clerk would select for 
a good American citizen to include in a Sunday dinner. 

There has been a whole lot said with respect to co-operative schemes 
for supplyng fruits and produce to the consumer at a wonderful saving. 
These fellows can talk your arm off telling about the usurious profits 
exacted by the middlemen, and all of that. In theory the proposition 
is very pretty, but in actual practice it does not work out. It will prob- 
ably take an entire shaking up of human nature ever to put such a 



290 PRODUCE MARKETS AND MARKETING 

scheme into operation, and I do not hesitate to say in so many words 
that I have no confidence in it whatever. The plan is impossible, at 
least until the millennium shall have come. Consumers should think 
twice before putting their money into these schemes. Honest co-opera- 
tion to a reasonable extent is good, but so much fraud is mixed up with 
most schemes of this sort they are safe to let alone. 

When there has been a bit more thinking and considerably less com- 
plaining about the cost of living compared with several years ago I be- 
lieve the matter will tend to adjust itself, and we shall all get along 
better. 

Whatever we do let's not confuse the cost of high living with the 
alleged high cost of living. The two are quite different. A little sober 
thinking about ourselves will convince most of us we could dispense 
with many things we foolishly buy and eat. We need more plain living 
and high thinking. 



3477 



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